


Merman Managed

by razielim



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Dubious Consent, Extremely Dubious Consent, First Time, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Merman Percy, Rimming, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-13
Updated: 2016-12-10
Packaged: 2018-03-30 09:22:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 28,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3931558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/razielim/pseuds/razielim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy is the world's most done-with-this-shit merman. Locked up in an aquarium and separated from everything and everyone he once loved, he amuses himself by flicking off small children and pulling the aquarium employees underwater. But when the aquarium director tells his caretaker Jason that if he can't get Percy to behave, he's fired, Jason tries less than ethical means of taming his charge.</p><p>Tagged for Noncon just in case, but I'm aiming for Dubcon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Percy made sure to give everyone his best bitch face as he was lowered into the water in a cradle of interwoven fabric. The most insulting thing about all this was being treated like an animal. Sure, being captured and put on display for the amusement of small human children wasn’t exactly what he’d call dignified, but being treated like he was dumb simply because he was mute and didn’t have legs… Well, he was glad his parents would never know the details of their son’s fate.

He was off swimming the moment he was low enough in the water to disentangle himself from the cradle. It took about three pushes of his tail to glide through the circumference of his new home. Pitiful. He was a merman, not a fucking goldfish. There was barely any room for privacy here let alone enough to get some decent exercise. He’d run face-first into artificial wall if he went anything faster than cruising speed.

There was a groan of metal from above. Deciding he’d have the rest of his life to explore his tank in detail, he went up to see what was going on above the surface. The humans had raised the cradle back up- again, did they seriously think he couldn’t dive into the water on his own without hurting himself- and were in the process of covering the surface of the water with solid metal net, one section at a time. Someone whistled.

Percy looked over. A blonde man at the water’s edge was gesturing him over. When Percy didn’t move, the man’s hand motion got more enthusiastic. Rolling his eyes, feeling completely _done_ with these humans, Percy lazily swam over.

“See? I told you he’d come. Opposable thumbs and brains as big as human ones- merfolk are _absolutely_ intelligent.”

Percy perked up at that, ignoring the loud, “Ugh,” of disinterest that came from the other man standing nearby. He took a closer look at the man that had spoken, noting the strong features of his face, the broad shoulders, the marks on his nose from wearing glasses, and the name tag that in simple all caps read, “JASON.”

“Heya, buddy. My name’s Jason. I’m going to be your caretaker. Technically, they call me a ‘trainer,’ but I’m not going to be teaching you any tricks or anything. I’m hoping if I’m lucky, I might teach you to communicate. Mostly, I’m hoping to learn your name someday, and maybe teach you how to play Solitaire so you don’t get too bored.”

Jason smiled and huffed a laugh at that, presumably having said something moderately funny. Percy had no idea what Solitaire was, but it sounded rather boring. At least the man wanted to learn his name. That was already enough to impress Percy. So far, he’d been called, “Fish Boy,” “Seaweed Brain,” “Barnacle Brains,” “World’s Least Sexy Mermaid, I Mean How Is That Thing Supposed to Tempt Me to My Death?” and “Aquaman.” The last one in particular was popular and always met with a round of laughter.

Jason was biting his lip, probably wondering if Percy understood any of what he’d just said. Percy thought of ten million things he could have said if he could speak human that would assure Jason that he wasn’t dumb. The most he could do with what he had, though, was nod. That didn’t seem to satisfy the man.

“Do you know what a name is? My name is-”

Percy shot out a hand to stop the man from pressing his hand to his chest. All the humans did that when trying to teach him their names. Jason looked startled, his face and chest covered in tank water from the sudden movement, and Percy let his wrist go. He moved his hand to the man’s left breast and poked at the name tag. Jason stared at him with completely bewildered eyes. Percy nodded to cement the idea that he understood what Jason had meant to do.

“S-so… could you tell me your name?”

Percy gestured vaguely. He wasn’t sure how. He wasn’t even sure how human letters could be put together to write his name. There always seemed such arbitrary rules to how humans spelled things.

There was a large clang to Percy’s right and both he and Jason jumped, having completely forgotten what was going on around them while trying to communicate. The solid metal netting, more like a grate, really, had been installed around most of the tank, hovering about two feet above the water.

“We’re gonna want to lower it here too, Mr. Grace. It’ll be a door so you can always open it, but the director says Aquaman has to rest for now. Stress is bad for the animals’ health.”

There was another round of snickering from all the workers at the nickname. Jason looked back down at Percy, mouth opening and closing like he had more to say than he could express in a few seconds, but unwilling to say goodbye just yet.

So Percy did the only thing a self-respecting merman could do in this situation. He grabbed ahold of Jason’s arms, and put his whole weight into pulling the man underwater.


	2. Chapter 2

Another day in paradise.

Percy watched a class of small children that were being lectured to in front of his glass. The boys were making rude faces at him. Shocking. Only the fifth time that’s happened today. He waited for the teacher to be looking the other way, and then slipped them the middle finger. Half the kids immediately had looks of utter horror blossom on their faces. The other half looked confused. Suddenly, there were little fingers pointing accusations at Percy, and little mouths tattling to the teacher about what he’d done. Great. Now Jason would come to chastise him again. He hated getting chastised. At first he thought it was a miracle that Jason believed he was intelligent. But the novelty of being treated with respect quickly wore off after Jason realized that he could chew Percy out for his behavior and be understood. It wasn’t his fault. He was a merman, and mischief was in his blood! It’s not like anyone ever got hurt.

He watched the class be quickly ushered away by a fuming teacher. Maybe- _maybe-_ they should consider putting a sign up in front of his tank. “DON’T MAKE FACES AT THE MERMAN.” Humans loved their signs. He knew there were countless ones affixed to the glass of his tank, and he wished he could see what was written on them. He rolled over in his bed of seaweed, letting his tail lazily fan the water above him.

He must have dozed off like that because the next moment, it was lunchtime, as evidenced by the groaning of metal above him. Pushing off from the rock, he eagerly swam up for his meal.

Jason greeted him with his best miffed face. Oh, fuck. The incident with the kids. Percy tried for cute-innocent-please-don’t-hate-me eyes. Jason called them puppy eyes, but Percy had no idea what a puppy was. The human shook his head, and kneeled down on the deck, well out of reach.

“You know what I’m going to say, you idiot.”

Percy nodded as Jason pulled a squirming fish out of the bucket next to him and tossed it to him, watching him catch it with one hand. Trout today. Percy let his sharper teeth grow out and sank them into that delightfully light-tasting flesh.

“Then why’d you do it? You know I have to hear about it after you pull your shenanigans. And then I get chewed out for it by my boss. I don’t know if merfolk have bosses, but let me tell you- it’s a miserable experience.”

Percy had the grace to look ashamed and let the fish slip out his fingers. He’d find it and eat it later.

“Percy, I don’t want you looking sorry- I want you to stop _doing_ it!”

Entirely subconsciously, Percy’s gaze travelled down to where Jason was balanced on the balls of his feet.

“Ohhh, no, you don’t.”

Jason stood and stepped away. Ever since Percy pulled him under the day they met, Jason had steered clear of getting too close to the water and letting Percy touch him. Which, to be honest, was beyond frustrating. He’d just been having fun. There hadn’t been a single scratch on Jason when Percy let him go and helped him climb back up. And yet, he got treated like a criminal for it. What did they expect, cooping him up in here without a friend? That he’d just waste away in boredom until he died? Maybe humans _were_ capable of being all serious all the time. Maybe they had the fun part of their souls sacrificed to the gods as a rite of passage into adulthood- Percy didn’t know- but he certainly was both unable and unwilling to become like them.

Percy decided to try winning Jason’s pity one last time. He pushed himself out of the water with a single stroke of his powerful tail and slumped forward on the deck, reaching a hand out and whining. Jason sighed and bent down to give Percy’s hand a pat.

“Maybe when you learn to behave, I’ll put on a swimsuit and splash around with you.”

Not good enough. He wanted it to happen now because Jason wanted to have fun with him, not later, as a reward for “good” behavior.

Pushing back off into the water, Percy swam down to find his fish, vaguely registering the sound of Jason throwing in a second one.


	3. Chapter 3

Percy lay on the tank floor in his new favorite seaweed bed. He rotated which one was his “favorite” every couple days. He was thinking about Jason and the day they’d figured out how to spell and say his name in human language. It had involved some clumsy letters written on the deck using a wet fingertip that took him about a half hour to finally get right in a way that Jason could read them. Originally, he’d tried writing, “PURSEA.” It made sense to him. Sea, like his home. But Jason insisted that there was already a spelling that sounded exactly like that. There were still some workers that called him “Aquaman” and “Waterboy,” but most of them called him by name now.

There had been a sharp spike in his popularity after that- not that there was ever any danger of the First Merman Ever Captured Alive becoming unpopular- but people started showing up with signs. Bright, colorful letters declared, “I LOVE YOU, PERCY!” “I WANT TO BE A MERMAN WHEN I GROW UP, PERCY!” and quite inexplicably, “THE END IS NIGH.” He actually really liked the ones that didn’t make any sense because he figured those people were just having some fun now that they knew he could read. He once saw a woman get stopped on her way over and caught a glimpse of her sign, which read, “I WANT TO BE YOUR MER **BITCH** , PERCY!” That one was particularly amusing, though also kind of embarrassing. All the ones that confessed desire for Percy made him wish that he wore human clothing. For the first time in his life, he felt exposed being naked.

But honestly? It was worth it. Those couple weeks during the hype had been his favorite. Now there weren’t any more fun signs. Just the ones saying that he was “COOL” and “RAD” and the ones confessing “love.” He’d rather they just swim with him than tell him they love him. He thought about Jason again and groaned out loud. The man kept promising to swim with him, but only, “When you learn to behave!” “When you stop acting like this!”

Just out of spite, Percy stuck his tongue out and made a mean face at a nearby toddler. The kid started to cry. Percy floated up off his bed, and moved to a different one that had taller seaweed. It was after his dinner and almost closing time, and Percy had figured out that if he upset someone this late in the day, Jason never heard about it. He let himself doze, only hazily aware of the water’s hum, as the crowd thinned out and he waited for his midnight meal.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Percy had woken up to find himself quite hungry and was up at the surface already waiting for Jason when he finally came in. The man looked sleepy and stressed.

“Sorry. I guess you’re hungry, huh?”

Percy nodded.

Jason gave him a fish. It struggled and writhed in Percy’s hand and he let it go, wanting to chase it down before eating it. He reached his hand out for the second one, which turned out to be a lobster that Jason pulled from a different bucket. Hell yeah! Percy let this one sink into the water too. Maybe he’d befriend it instead of eating it. If he could get by on one fish before his next meal, it could work out. Jason always laughed that Percy ate more than anything else in the aquarium, but Percy actually viewed himself as being on a diet since coming here. He had eaten a lot more living in the sea.

He watched Jason, wondering why the man looked so tired and why he was so quiet. His head tilt must have clued Jason in on his curiosity because the human sighed and started talking.

“I don’t know how much longer I’m going to work here, Perce. The bosses are really unhappy with my performance. I don’t know. I’m probably going to get fired any day now. And then I have to look for an apartment. I don’t have my old one, you know. I sleep here, at the aquarium. They’ve got,” he pointed behind him with his thumb, “A kind of studio here for me that I live in, right through that door, so I can feed you at all hours of the night. I don’t know if you knew that...”

He looked off across the tank water.

“It’s a shame. I really liked working here. All my life I researched merfolk, and this job was… well, I don’t think I’ll ever find something I like this much. Not that I’m really good at my job, I guess. You’re always acting out, so I’m guessing you _want_ to get rid of me-”

Percy shook his head emphatically and reached out of the water to assure Jason that no, no way, Jason was his absolutely favorite person here. Jason pulled away before he could touch him. Stung by the rejection, _again_ , Percy wondered how Jason could be so fascinated by merfolk and yet be so averse to Percy’s touch.

“Don’t be silly. You’re always moody when I’m around for too long. I don’t know if I just rub you the wrong way or what-”

Percy groaned in frustration and slapped the water to interrupt Jason. Of _course_ he was moody- he was in a freaking tank! And his favorite person never stuck around for long _enough_. The man seemed surprised by the splashed water. Percy schooled his features to look less angry and then pointed to the wall, where there were a few wetsuits hanging. Then he pointed to the water and gestured, “Come here.”

Jason stayed still and silent for a bit, his lips softly opening and closing as they chose the best response.

“I guess… might as well, huh? If I get fired, when’s the next time I’m going to get the opportunity to swim with a mermaid- _man_ , sorry, and not worry about being dragged to my death? You... aren’t going to drag me to my death, are you?”

Percy shook his head.

Jason still looked worried and Percy watched as he bit at the insides of his lips.

“Okay.”

He stood up and walked to the wall where the suits were, pulling off his shirt along the way. Percy watched, fascinated, as he pulled his shorts off too, noting the shape of human thighs, but ended up averting his gaze when Jason took his undergarment off. He surprised himself by doing that, but it was weird to even _think_ about seeing a human completely naked. They probably wore all that clothing for a reason- some really deformed reason. He snickered to himself at the thought. When he looked up again, Jason wasn’t wearing a wetsuit. Instead, he was wearing shorts- longer ones that reached to his knees and had waves drawn on them.

Percy pushed away from the tank edge to give Jason some room to get in without feeling threatened. The human dipped his toe in, then sat down on the edge and let his legs down.

“For some reason I expected it to be cold. I know it’s not, but that time you pulled me under it seemed really cold. Maybe I was just scared.”

Percy grinned and moved back more.

Jason turned to brace his hands on the deck and slowly let his whole body sink in. The moment he let go of the edge, Percy shot forward and wrapped his arms around him. Jason yelled in alarm and swatted at his hands.

Immediately, Percy let him go and shushed him. Then he swam away to a part of the tank covered by the grate and gestured for Jason to follow him. There was a moment of hesitation, but ultimately, Jason kicked off from the edge and swam after him. Percy led him in a chase around the surface of the tank, turning around now and then to splash him in the face. Sometimes, Jason would retaliate and he felt water splash down on the top of his head as he swam away. Now and then, when Jason splashed back, Percy would dive under, spin around and launch himself at his caretaker, wrapping him in his arms and pulling him under for a few seconds. After the first couple times, Jason stopped being scared, laughing as he resurfaced and splashing more water in Percy’s face.

When he got bored of being chased, Percy found his dinner in the water and brought it to Jason, who just stared at it blankly. Percy let it go, watched it swim for a bit, and then caught it again, bringing it back to Jason. Hesitant fingers reached for the fish as Jason caught on to the game. His hold on it was too weak and the fish easily broke free. Suddenly panicked, Jason gulped in some air and dove after it. Thoroughly entertained, Percy ducked down to watch his progress. The man got close a couple times, but his fingers weren’t deft enough, and he had to give up his chase to come up for air. Percy was so amused he hugged the human immediately as he surfaced, clapping his back for a good attempt and brushing his nose against Jason’s cheek in consolation of his failure.

Then he pushed Jason away, and the man looked confused, having just relaxed into Percy’s embrace. Percy shooed him away. Taking a moment to study Percy’s face for clues, Jason started swimming toward the other side of the tank. Percy gave him a moment to almost reach the far side before giving chase and pulling Jason under. The man came back up sputtering and looking supremely offended. Percy gestured away with an open hand again, like, “Feel free to try again.” Giving Percy one last disapproving look, Jason started sprinting away. Again, Percy watched him and then gave chase. This time, Jason turned at the last moment and shoved water in Percy’s face. Percy laughed and pulled him down anyway.

They kept playing until Jason got obviously tired and was having trouble moving at anything more than a lazy pace. Percy couldn’t help but feel justified. _And they wonder why I eat so much. It’s not easy being a merman._ Officially deciding that it was time for Jason to get some sleep, Percy grabbed him by his underarms, and swimming under Jason’s body, got him to the grate opening in just a few seconds. He then helped Jason get out of the water, the man’s arms shaking and too weak to do it themselves.

“God, no wonder I’m so tired. It’s already three in the morning. I’ve been in there with you for three hours.” Turning around, Jason gave him a sleepy grin. “That was fun. Don’t forget to eat your food before it eats _you_ in your sleep.”

Percy laughed and nodded, pushing Jason further away from the water so the man would stand up and go to sleep.

“Yeah, yeah… see you in a few hours for your next meal.”

Percy watched him walk away, suddenly optimistic about his life in the tank.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have some resources for you guys. :)
> 
> Since I had a few people ask me how Percy's sexual anatomy works, I drew you guys [a diagram](https://razielim.tumblr.com/post/118900276638/diagram-soft-semi-erect-erect-normal-hole). [NSFW]
> 
> Also, I sketched [a quick illustration](https://razielim.tumblr.com/post/118922415423/sketched-an-illustration-of-the-deck-from-merman) of what the deck looks like.
> 
> And for those of you unaware, [this](https://razielim.tumblr.com/post/118677295833/at-least-like-this-youre-finally-behaving) is the drawing that started this whole mess of a fic. [NSFW]

It was midnight again, and Percy was once more hovering at the metal door above his tank. The outer door clanged open and a cheery looking Jason walked in, bucket in hand. He was already dressed in his swim trunks, just like he had been every midnight since he first got in the water six days ago.

“Hey, Percy. So I have some good news. But first- have you been behaving on purpose the last few days?”

Percy paused a moment. No, not that he remembered. Sure, he’d “behaving” by human standards, but only because he wasn’t in the mood to mess with the aquarium visitors. Merfolk thrived on mischief and play, but flipping birds at people simply wasn’t as fun as spending time with Jason. Besides, he was pretty lethargic during the day after a night of shenanigans with his caretaker. By the time he shrugged and shook his head, Jason had the heavy door above him open.

“You sure? Well, either way, I’ve got something special for you.”

He reached into his bucket and pulled out a small fish, which he threw into the water. Percy made a face. Two of those wouldn’t be enough for a meal. But after throwing in a second one, Jason produced at third fish, and then a fourth, and then Percy lost count because he ducked his head underwater to watch them make themselves scarce in his tank. By the time he heard Jason moving the bucket, there must have been at least a dozen small fish in his tank. This was going to be fun.

He looked back up, hoping for an explanation.

“I’m _officially_ , for the time being, not being fired. The boss man said that there have been absolutely no complaints about you in the last few days.”

Percy grinned and splashed up to the edge, excited about the news. He’d been feeling pretty lame since finding out that Jason was going to be forced to leave, and this was a huge relief. He motioned for Jason to join him in the water.

Jason laughed and sat down on the edge to lower himself in, shivering a bit as the water slid up his body. Once he was free of the wall, Percy barreled him over in a hug, pulling him around this way and that in the water. Then once he had his fill of squeezing the life out of Jason in congratulations, he zoomed off and away, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Jason was following him. They played chase for a while until Percy got curious about his new tankmates/bite-sized-snacks. He dove under and swam around chasing them for a while. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Jason also try to catch nearby fish, but never with any success.

Percy was sitting at the bottom of the tank, trying to peer into a crevice in which one of his meals had hidden when he heard the loud metal bang above. He looked up to see Jason at the surface, clutching his head. Immediately forgetting his prey, he swam up to see what had happened.

“Ah, _fuck_ , Percy. I’m such an idiot-”

The rest got drowned out as Jason’s mouth ducked below the water again. The man was having trouble staying afloat so Percy scooped him up and moved him to the wall, guiding his hand to hold onto the side. Since the edge was almost two feet above the water, he decided to keep an arm around Jason to make sure the man wouldn’t get tired.

“I- _ow-_ came up too fast. Was under for a long time because I almost _had_ the damn thing and then I really, really needed air, so I kicked up off the rock and _bang!_ Right into the grate.”

Percy looked up at the grate. It lined up with the edge of the tank, giving them enough room to play under it. Generally, it wasn’t a problem except a few dings here and there when one of them waved their hands around too much while splashing. Jason must have been coming up pretty fast to hit something so high with such force. Percy cooed and took Jason’s hand back off the ledge, choosing instead to wrap him up in his arms and swim on his back across the surface so Jason could lie on top of him.

They cruised around for a long while, Percy maneuvering and Jason talking about the fish he’d almost caught and how he hoped he didn’t have a concussion. Finally, he tapped out and told Percy that he should probably go to the emergency office just in case, even if he felt fine aside from the pain. Percy wheeled them over to the tank door.

“Thanks, Percy. I… it feels amazing being able to trust you. I mean, not just to _not kill me_ , but this, just now- the way humans trust each other. The way humans have _relationships_ with each other. I never dreamed that my faith in merfolk being similar to us would pay off, and I’d actually get to witness proof, but… You’re _amazing_ , Percy. I’m so happy I get to stay with you.”

Percy forgot to breathe for a moment. Holding Jason in that instance felt like he was back in the sea- like he was loved and part of something bigger than himself. Overcome by this bloom of tenderness, he pressed in close and kissed Jason, hard and passionate, moaning quietly against his mouth.

There was a tap on his neck and he pulled back, suddenly aware that he was probably being too forward. Except Jason didn’t look like he was flustered. He was downright shell-shocked. He croaked a few times, eyes wildly chasing for a clue on Percy’s face.

“P-Percy, you can’t _do_ that. That’s wrong, that so _wrong_.”

Jason pushed at his chest until Percy’s arms slipped from around the man’s waist.

“Don’t _ever_ do that again.”

Suddenly finding his strength, Jason pulled himself out of the water, having seemingly forgotten about the pain in his head. He turned to look at Percy one last time. Averted his gaze.

“I… Good night, Percy.”

Percy watched him leave feeling completely empty, so baffled by such a _strong_ negative reaction that he couldn’t even feel the sting of rejection. Once the door closed behind his caretaker, he let himself slowly sink to the bottom of the tank, replaying what had just happened in his head. Apparently, Jason didn’t think their species were _that_ similar. So much for trust and relationships.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Def wrote most of this at my little brother's soccer game. Haha.

There were adolescent girls tapping on his glass.

Probably because he hadn’t moved in over an hour, and they’d been waiting there the whole time. People did that, but usually he wasn’t moving because he was out cold napping, and the poking didn’t bother him. It did today. He was hoping that he’d only kill one day being upset about Jason’s rejection, but today he was upset about something much worse than a rejection- the big picture.

He was a 19 year old merman. He’d never been with any merfolk romantically, and had spent his whole life splashing in the waves and pulling pranks, thinking that he had the rest of his life to find someone special and settle down… and now he was here. Forever.

It had only hit him this morning when Jason came in, fed him, and left without a single word. His life would never mean anything. He would never have anyone or anything to call his own except this tank. There was no way the humans would ever catch another one of his kind within his lifetime, and even if they did, they wouldn’t be so kind as to give Percy a friend. The unfortunate merperson would end up going on display halfway across the world so that more people could have the opportunity to gawk and stare. He wasn’t stupid, he knew that he wasn’t in this tank because merpeople fascinated humans. He was here so someone could become rich. Or stay rich. Merfork were very fond of that sort of enterprise. It was the ultimate prank- making someone pay you for something that isn’t all that valuable to you in the first place.

He rolled over to his side. There was an angry-looking man approaching the girls. They talked for a bit, the girls made some frustrated motions towards Percy, and the man levelled his angry glare right at him. Probably a parent making sure his child and her friends were getting what he paid for. The man started banging on the glass with his fist, though in the hum of the water, the action produced only dull thumps. Percy just watched him for a bit, deriving at least some satisfaction from seeing him get progressively angrier. Then Percy got angry too.

Faster than he could even process, he was off his bed and speeding at the glass. Colliding with the wall, he snarled, all of his sharp teeth springing out from his gums as he wailed loud enough that guests on the other side of the thick glass covered their ears. In that moment of horror, before the man turned to grab the girls and run, he could see his own terrifying maw reflected in the man’s eyes, and knew the man would see it in his worst nightmares. Good. Glad he got his money’s worth.

Jason’s bosses could be upset all they wanted that he wasn’t “behaving.” He was mer, and mer do not bow to the whims of other creatures.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

“You did the teeth thing again.”

Percy shrugged. Jason shifted his weight forward so he could peer into the water below Percy.

“Your tank’s full of fish. Have you been eating at all?”

Percy sighed, thought about replying, then ultimately decided he didn’t care to. A flick of his tail, which may or may not have splashed Jason on purpose, and he was sinking back to the tank floor.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Percy watched through the water as the grate opened up above him. He didn’t bother going up to meet Jason anymore. He’d done it for the first few days because it was more boring not to, but now he’d rather be bored than see Jason. The man had nothing to say to him except, “You aren’t eating,” and, “My bosses are pissed that you’re terrorizing the visitors.” He hadn’t seen the man in almost ten days.

An angelfish swam by, and he was tempted to let it pass just to spite Jason and his concern for Percy’s health. He changed his mind at the last moment and grabbed that darn thing before it got out of range. He ate it slowly, listening for the sound of Jason throwing in more fish.

It never happened. Instead, there was a big heavy splash, like a breaching shark falling back into the waves. Startled and alarmed, Percy jerked off his seaweed, fangs out, tail tense.

Instead of anything life-threatening, however, he saw Jason’s pink feet kicking at the surface. After a moment, Jason ducked under to find him and gestured him over. Curious about this turn of events, Percy slowly swam up. Jason hadn’t been in the water, or even offered to get in the water since the incident. He broke the surface and, considering only for a split moment the possibility that maybe he shouldn’t, spit a fountain of water at Jason’s face. Jason sputtered and covered his face, splashing back at him.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, you’re upset with me.”

They stared at each other for a moment once all the water settled.

“Look, Percy- I know you’re… I know I handled that whole thing all wrong. I wanted to apologize for my behavior.”

Percy took a second to watch Jason squirm, then nodded his understanding, making sure to look as unforgiving as possible.

“I’m not sure if you understand this, but just because you don’t see anyone watching you, it doesn’t mean you’re not being watched. And what you did, that- that was really dangerous for me. Forget losing my job, I could be put in jail for that sort of thing. I simply couldn’t even… imagine hanging around to explain that to you. I just had to get out immediately…”

Percy could understand that. He could even understand Jason not wanting to bring it up again in the days that followed. But he couldn’t clamp down on the knot of bitterness lodged in his chest. That knowledge- now confirmed, that he would never be able to have a romantic relationship, not even with a human- it suffocated him. It wouldn’t happen even if Jason was replaced with someone else. Because why would the humans risk their freedom for his happiness? They couldn’t feel the urgency that he felt, that desperation for a meaningful connection in a meaningless existence.

He just nodded vaguely, unable to meet Jason’s eyes.

“I- I know it’s not fair for you. That you’re stuck in here, and I’m the only person you get to interact with. I know how hard it is to get over someone when they’re always right there and you can’t avoid them…”

Percy nodded again, suddenly feeling even more sorry for himself after hearing Jason validate his own thoughts on the subject.

“And I’m so, so sorry that I can’t give you what you want. I want to do everything in my power to keep you happy. If you want me to swim and play with you, absolutely, I will do that. If you want me to come in and maybe tell you what’s going on in the world or read you books, I can do that too. What I can’t do… is return your feelings.”

Percy got tired of bobbing his head like an idiot, so he just sighed.

“I’m sorry, Percy. I’m so, so sorry.”

Percy had to struggle to keep a straight face, his lips curling into his mouth so they wouldn’t tremble. Jason swam closer and reached a hand for his. Jason’s fingers felt warm but rubbery against his wrist. Human skin wasn’t adapted to the water. He focused on the feeling of Jason’s thumb brushing the soft skin on the underside of his forearm. He felt raw and sensitive and needy under the small caress. He couldn’t do this. Shaking his head, he pulled his hand away.

“…Sorry.”

Percy gave a single nod, acknowledging the sentiment.

“Do you want to swim around together a bit?”

Percy thought about it. He accepted Jason’s apology on all counts, but he felt worse than ever now. He shook his head and sank below the surface.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a warning for upcoming chapters (not this one or the next), I'm not sure where on the scale of consent the first smut scene will be. I'm kind of just going to go where the plot takes me. But a) it's definitely in the dubcon -> noncon spectrum, b) Jason does not ask for consent, nor is Percy able to verbalize his consent/lack thereof since he's mute to humans, and c) Jason will use force during the scene. You've been warned.

Jason was being super nice. He hadn’t been chastising him at all this week for upsetting the guests. Percy had made no less than five toddlers cry today by baring his fangs at them, and so far, not a peep from Jason. He was just talking calmly about his day writing his dissertation on Percy and about the new shark the aquarium had acquired.

Jason also looked super stressed out. He’d been getting progressively more so all week, but so far, he hadn’t mentioned anything about what was eating him.

Percy floated near the gate, listening to Jason talk. He wasn’t sure if he was doing this to humor Jason or just because he wanted to. He had this nagging feeling that he shouldn’t be spending time with Jason if he wanted to make his heart stone cold and invulnerable for the years to come, but it didn’t really matter. Self-denial was a human obsession, and he didn’t want to get infected with it.

The door slammed open with a lot of noise and Percy peered up at the newcomer. It was an old guy in a suit. He had a security guard follow him in, and then a younger man in a suit. The old guy strode up to the grate, looking around. He walked with an exaggerated posture, like he was compensating for the weight of his large belly. Jason jumped up and shook water off his feet as he turned to face the man. Percy curiously watched him try to fix his hair and shirt. Well, _that_ was different.

“Mr. D.”

The old man finally let his gaze rest on Jason. He had a very lovely mixture of a pleasant smile and a disgusted sneer on his face. Percy felt his brows raise. If these were the kind of people that owned him, he was surprised he wasn’t being forced to learn tricks like the dolphins.

“Mr. Grace. You always work this late?”

“Y-yes, sir. I live here so that I-”

“Ah, yes, yes.”

Mr. D’s beady, watery eyes traveled to Percy.

“And this is the little beast that’s been terrorizing my guests. No progress on making him behave? I thought you’d done something about him, but now I’m hearing that he’s worse than ever.”

Not true. Percy was trying to be a little better since he and Jason had patched things up. Yes, there were the five toddlers today, and the group of little old ladies yesterday, and the diving mask incident with one of the cleaners a few days back, but he was restraining himself to show Jason his goodwill. It wasn’t perfect, but who could blame him with the way he was feeling?

“Y-yessir. He’s been having some trouble with feeling depressed. Merfolk are social creatures, and he’s all alone-”

“I saw that he has fish in his tank now. Not _that_ alone.”

“Yes, but- merfolk don’t talk to fish. They live in communities with other merpeople. They _eat_ fish.”

“Why not a dolphin, then? Or an octopus? Both intelligent animals. Especially the octopus. He can teach it to play chess.”

“Sir, I really don’t think it’s realistic to expect him to behave simply because he can understand human speech. Some species just can’t help the way they behave in captivity. That’s why we don’t have any great whites- they get depressed and starve themselves to death, beating their heads against-”

“Mr. Percy is not a great white, however. You have proven, against all odds, that he is capable of intelligence-”

“Yes, _sir,_ but he is still under psychological duress. Humans get depressed too under certain conditions. Human prisoners go on food strikes all the time. Intelligence is irrelevant in those situations. And the fish you saw in his tank are fish that he _refused to eat_ when they were fed to him. Keeping Percy in captivity is dangerous for his mental health. You might end up with a merman death on your hands if we continue-”

“If you’re petitioning for me to release him, Mr. Grace… over my dead body. Now, you’ve made him behave before. You know how to make him content. And you will do it again. Or…” Mr. D spread his hands, “You will be replaced with someone that can give me the results I want. Break him, if you have to. We can get you some, uh… shock equipment. How’s that? Like a dog collar for the whole tank. Would that help?”

“N-no. I think I can try what I did before again.”

“Good. You’re on a two week probation starting now, Mr. Grace. Results. _Permanent results._ I don’t want this back and forth nonsense. Else I’ll find a shock therapy expert as his new trainer.”

“Yessir.”

“Good night, Mr. Grace.”

He glanced at Percy again.

“Good night, Aquaman.”

He turned to the two men that had come in with him.

“Get it? Aquaman, like the superhero.”

The men laughed, though it was the first time Percy had heard the laughter sound forced after an Aquaman joke. Mr. D turned and, just as leisurely as he had walked in, strolled out, still chuckling to himself. The two other men followed, and the door closed behind them.

Jason sank to the deck.

“…fffffuck.”

Percy swallowed. The man looked pale and like he’d aged ten years in the last ten minutes. He wanted to ask what shock therapy was, but he could figure out that it was something appalling by the way Jason choked on his words when he declined Mr. D’s offer of equipment. He swam up to the edge of the deck and took Jason’s hand. He wanted to promise that he’d behave, promise that Jason didn’t have to worry about him, that he knew better than to stab himself in the tail. Jason looked down at him.

“ _Please._ You know you won’t behave. Maybe for a couple weeks, but you won’t be able to maintain it.”

Percy was about to grumble his disagreement, but he knew Jason was right, so he just huffed instead.

“Let me swim with you, Percy. Like we used to. You know it’ll help you not be so tempted by the visitors.”

Percy sighed. Right again. He stalled for as long as he could, but ultimately had to nod.

“Alright. Tonight? Or do you want to wait until tomorrow?”

Percy sighed a longer, over-dramatic sigh to demonstrate his feelings on the matter, but he waved Jason into the water. They probably both needed to take their minds off Mr. D’s threat.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, smut is in the next chapter. Guys, I really appreciate feedback and hearing that you're enjoying the fic, but please don't keep posting comments and sending messages telling me how much you want updates and how excited you are for the smut.
> 
> It's flattering, but it's also a lot of unnecessary pressure, and it really stresses me out. The more messages like that I received this weekend, the less I wanted to write. I'm trying to grow and develop as an author. I've written countless standalone porn-without-plot smut ficlets, but "Merman" and "Jane" are the first fics with actual plot that I've ever written. So it's really hard to stay motivated if all any of you care about is the smut.
> 
> Like, I obviously love smut as much as the next guy (probably more, lbr). And I totally understand the sentiment of wanting it NOW RIGHT NOW, but please don't pile extra pressure on me. I do this for fun, and the past few days, it's just been really depressing. You can talk on your own blogs about how much you need a Merman update, you can complain to your friends that I'm taking too long with the smut, but please don't tell me. Odds are, someone's already said it.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I'm so happy you guys are enjoying this. ♥♥♥

Percy jerked and turned to look behind him, backing away all in one motion.

Jason had been trying to sneak up on him. Bubbles exploded out of the man’s mouth, and Percy distinctly heard the word, _“Damn!”_ Then Jason pushed up off the seaweed bed and headed up for air. That was close.

They’d been chasing the fish together the past few days. After he finally had the genius idea of putting on a diving mask, Jason had gotten a lot better at the enterprise. Still feeling a little frazzled, Percy watched Jason bob along the surface. He’d been avoiding physical contact, but it seemed like Jason hadn’t exactly picked up on that. He seemed to think Percy was just being gloomy, and that he’d eventually want to play tag again if Jason tried hard enough to pull him out of his shell. It was sweet. Percy wasn’t even mad, just insistent on not wanting to feel Jason’s warm hands on his body.

Jason dove back down and chased after another fish.

Percy looked back at the lobster he had been playing with, who was staring at him, looking a bit impatient. Percy tossed the rock he had clenched in his fist and the lobster went scuttling after it with a swish of his fat tail. Percy looked back to make sure Jason was at a safe distance. There was a _clack_ and he looked down to find the lobster having replaced the pebble in front of Percy. He poked the darn thing on the head for a job well done, and threw the rock again. After a few more throws, he heard his name gurgled at a distance. He sighed and swam back to Jason.

“Hey… your lobster’s gotten really good at that.”

Percy nodded, not quite meeting Jason’s eyes. Some moments were just harder than others.

“I-” Jason sighed. He still had bags under his eyes. It didn’t seem like he was feeling any less stressed about his position here at the aquarium, even though Percy had been an absolutely model citizen since meeting Mr. D. “Is any of this helping you feel better? I mean, am I helping? Do you want me in here? I can go. Since the lobster seems to be keeping you entertained…”

Percy didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want Jason gone. He liked having proof that Jason cared for him. But he also didn’t want to interact with him in any significant way. Chasing fish together had been the most social activity they’d done in the last three days, and Percy liked it that way.

Finally, he just shrugged. Jason could decide for himself what he thought was best. He was about to dive down when Jason grabbed his wrist. Percy allowed the contact. He didn’t want Jason asking him about that too. It was impossible to answer Jason’s questions the way he wanted to, so best to just avoid getting them asked in the first place.

“You know they don’t like it when you’re not doing anything all day either. Maybe- do you think you could play with your lobster during the day?”

Percy drooped a little and pulled his wrist from Jason’s hand. That sounded suspiciously like doing tricks for people. He nodded anyway- his back was to the wall with this whole behavior thing.

“And then, I guess… do you still want me to come swim at night? And don’t shrug this time. I want an answer. Do you think that would be better or worse for how you’re feeling?”

Percy didn’t know. He just didn’t. He reached out and grasped Jason’s wrist, mirroring their previous position. He looked down at his actions through the undulating water as he stroked his hand up and back down Jason’s forearm. He let his thumb stroke the inside of Jason’s wrist, just as Jason had done to him during his apology. He thought about before, when he could touch Jason freely, before he was even aware of his feelings for Jason. How easy it had been. Now touching Jason felt like his whole soul was contained just in the small bit of skin that was in contact with the human.

He looked back at Jason’s face in question. Was this alright? Jason seemed guarded, but he eventually shrugged mutely. Percy decided to push the boundaries to find out where exactly Jason drew the line. He went in to wrap his arms around the human’s waist. It was like he was in a completely different lifetime from the last time he’d held Jason. Nothing was familiar about it. What was once warm and friendly, now felt hollowed out. Ruined. Jason squirmed in his arms, obviously just as unsettled by how awkward the embrace was, but unwilling to reject Percy again.

And yet, despite everything, Percy wanted more, wanted to believe that the discomfort could be worked through. He drew Jason closer and the warmth in his hands and forearms spread into his biceps and chest as Jason’s skin came in contact with them. They were now so close, Percy could feel his own warm breath reflecting back to him from Jason’s ear and neck. He felt hesitant hands hover over his shoulders before settling down. It was quiet and calm for a moment. Then Percy hissed as one of Jason’s kicking feet hit his tail. Jason stilled the motion of his legs immediately, letting Percy’s powerful tail muscles hold them both up on the surface of the water. Everything calmed again. They floated, Jason’s warm breath feeling like a blessing across Percy’s neck and shoulder.

Finding some courage to do so, Percy let his fingers splay out across Jason’s back, trying to eliminate all space between their skin. Jason shivered and it travelled across their bodies until Percy felt a tremor run down his own spine. Percy’s head turned in towards Jason on its own. He watched, enthralled, as a single droplet of water escaped from Jason’s wet hair and rolled haltingly down the damp skin of his neck. He gave chase, letting his lips press to the skin there.

“Percy, _don’t_. That’s way over the line.”

Backing off with his lips, Percy instead pressed the ridge of his nose into the muscle connecting neck and shoulder. Jason squirmed some more before settling down and lifting a hand to stroke down Percy's neck. Percy's eyes fluttered shut at the petting as he completely relaxed into the embrace and let the last of his anxieties slip away.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

He must have dozed off because Jason's movement startled him. Percy realized his eyelids felt heavy and he had no idea how long they'd been embracing. He loosened his arms and let Jason back off. The man seemed amused.

"Sleep well?"

Percy shrugged and Jason nodded.

"It's time for me to go."

Percy looked at the clock. It was. He let Jason go and watched the man swim lazily to the edge. Percy forced his mouth up into a small smile to convince himself that what Jason had allowed him was enough.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

“I thought you said you'd play with the lobster.”

Percy shrugged. He did a little yesterday, but he just hadn’t had the energy to move at all today. He knew the visitors were unhappy, but he just couldn’t force himself to get out of bed. Every time he thought he might have the energy after all, he imagined bursting out into tears in front of all the gawking humans, and only curled in on himself tighter. God, that had been such a bad idea- touching Jason. Holding Jason. He’d made it completely worse for himself. He glanced at Jason’s mouth. Yup, definitely worse. Stupid, stupid, _stupid…_

“Percy, I’m trying to find a solution here! We don’t have the full two weeks to come up with a working plan- by then, our results are due! That’s in what- _nine_ days? Eight? By then, we want at least a few consecutive days of visitors leaving here content. So _please-_ work with me.”

Percy forced an angry sigh out of his lungs and splashed water at Jason’s feet. If the man wasn’t careful, he’d drown him. He would. It was as good a solution as any. If he killed his own trainer, no one was going to expect him to be friendly and fun when they came to the aquarium. Jason probably didn’t realize that mermaids didn’t only drown men for food, but also in anger at being scorned.

Realizing he probably shouldn’t dwell on such primitive urges- he didn’t actually want Jason dead, after all, he let his shoulders relax and motioned Jason in the water. Fine. They’d play tag today. Maybe that would help.

Jason got in the water and reached for his mask that was lying on the deck. Trying to clue Jason in on his plans for today’s activities, Percy reached out to stop him. Jason looked confused, so Percy shook his head and motioned Jason to swim away. It took him a moment, but Jason got it.

“Hold on, then. I’ll need to take my contacts out. ‘Cause I know you’re going to pull me under, you ass.”

Percy splashed around a bit as he waited for Jason to get back in the water. His chest felt tight, and he had to take deep breaths to calm himself, to assure himself that this wasn’t going to hurt as much as he was afraid. Jason came back and splashed in.

Percy watched him swim easily and leisurely across the surface. Then he let his tail spring him forward in pursuit.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

The first night hadn’t been that bad. He’d had so much fun actually moving around and getting exercise for the first time in weeks that he forgot to feel sad every time he let go of Jason or Jason let go of him. He even played with his lobster during the day, he felt so refreshed.

The _second_ night... well, he managed. Every time Jason came back up gasping for air, his mouth wet and face flushed, Percy wanted so bad to lean in and kiss him. But he managed. He tried to play with his lobster when visiting hours started, but got sad after a few minutes. His mind supplied to him the poisonous idea that this crustacean was the only permanent friend he’d ever have, and that was the end of that. He swam back to his bed and resigned to people watching through strands of seaweed for the rest of the day, trying not to think about having to swim with Jason later.

There was a young man that kept coming back the past couple weeks.

Unlike the other repeat visitors, he was very calm. Didn’t knock on the glass. Didn’t look upset that Percy wasn’t moving. He just stood there and looked around the tank- watching the fishes, sketching the lobster or the curve of Percy’s tail in the notebook he brought with him some days. Once in a while, when he caught Percy’s bored gaze on him, he’d flip the sketchbook around and press it against the glass to show Percy his rendering of the coral in the corner, or whatever other sketch du jour. It was sweet, but Percy never had the energy to respond. Maybe someday, when he was feeling less morose, he’d swim over there and show an interest. Maybe get the young man’s name and make faces at him.

The young man was here today with a friend. Well, friend was putting it obtusely. The tall, blonde companion obviously had eyes for the brunette artist, making jokes and prodding him playfully for his attention. The brunette would smile, joke back, and keep drawing, eyes steady on one of the fish that was circling near him. Percy wondered if Jason also had someone else. Here he was, pining after him like an idiot, and it was entirely possible that Jason wasn’t even available. He rolled over onto his back, not in the mood to watch the blonde’s continued failure.

He didn’t sleep that day.

Hours crawled on and all he could do was fantasize about Jason’s lips against his own. He caught himself subconsciously moving his lips with the imagined kisses a few times and snapped his jaw shut, thoroughly embarrassed that his feelings were getting so out of control. And yet, the fantasies kept coming as vivid as ever- Jason mouthing down his neck, Jason nibbling at his ear, Jason’s arms holding his waist so tight he could barely breathe. Milky tears rolled down from Percy’s eyes and into his ears, hot against his skin.

When Jason came to feed him in the late afternoon, he didn’t swim up. Through blurry eyes, he watched the wavering shape at the edge of the water try to peer in to find him before throwing a couple fish in. When Jason closed the grate and left, Percy let tension out of his shoulders that he didn’t even realize had built up.

He thought for a brief moment, as it was getting later in the evening, that maybe he should sit up and let the aquarium visitors see him crying. Maybe someone would find a way to save him. Maybe they’d be entertained and Mr. D would be made happy. But in the end, his pride kept him hiding. He didn’t actually _want_ anyone to see him like this.

Jason finally came to feed him again when midnight rolled around. It took Percy a while to pick himself up off the tank floor and into a sitting position. He was still trying to convince himself to swim up when he heard the splash of Jason jumping in. No point in stalling. He slowly cruised up.

Jason had an apprehensive look on his face when Percy pushed his head above the surface.

“Percy… what happened? You were doing so well.”

Percy didn’t have a response, so he just stared back.

“I… what more can I give you?”

Percy let that slide as a rhetorical question, though his eyes found Jason’s lips for a brief moment. And _in_ that same moment, he felt ashamed. Why was he so focused on Jason? He’d already established that the great tragedy of his life was captivity, not this man. He turned away, suddenly worried that he might start crying again. Trying to calm down, he reminded himself that he was focused on Jason because it was easier. No point in berating himself for being sad and making it worse.

“Percy… look at me. Percy…”

Jason’s hand tugged at his elbow and, finally convinced that there was no more threat of tears, Percy allowed himself to get tugged around. Jason didn’t seem to know what to say once he had Percy’s attention. He tried to speak a few times before he came up with a thought.

“What are we doing today?”

Percy stared. He thought again about murdering the man for so calmly and rationally talking about how to make Percy happier. The impulse suddenly bloomed in his chest. He dove under and pulled Jason’s foot, jerking the man several feet underwater. Jason let out a yelp that exploded in bubbles as he descended. Once he had Jason at his mercy in the water, he grabbed tight onto Jason’s jaw, and pressed a hard kiss to his lips. Not quite murder, but Jason would be pretty upset at Percy for breaking their rules.

Jason’s response was immediate: pushing at his chest, clawing at his neck, trying to get away from Percy and up for air. Percy released him, and watched him immediately kick to get to the surface. He waited a while, and followed.

Jason rounded on him as soon as he came up. Snarled at him.

“I told you you couldn’t _do_ that.”

Percy shrugged and nodded. The way he figured, if they didn’t get in trouble for the first kiss, nothing would happen because of this second one.

“Do you not understand that we could get in- that _I_ could get in a lot of trouble for that? Or do you not mind throwing someone else under the bus? You’re here forever and don’t care if I lose my freedom too?”

Percy backed away a bit at that accusation, shaking his head. No, he hadn’t ever thought that. Wouldn’t dream of it.

“Then _why_ , Percy? This isn’t a game. I _know_ you like games,” Jason’s voice turned pleading and raw, “I _know_ you like to play. I know you can’t help it. But this isn’t a game. You could ruin my _life_ doing that.”

Percy started crying. Having his feelings called a game... Jason _knew_ that’s not what it was. He didn’t want to hurt Jason or endanger his freedom, he just- just-

“Percy…”

Percy turned away to hide his tears.

“Percy, I know it hurts. I know you feel alone and terrible, and I’m so sorry. But I can’t fix that. I _can’t_. I- I…”

Jason trailed off, the palms of his hands lightly cupping Percy’s elbows. Percy considered diving down to be alone, but he also really wanted to hear this rejection. Wanted to be reminded once more that no, this is really something that was impossible. That he should continue trying to move past it, rather than letting it get worse by spending all day daydreaming.

Jason didn’t continue. Instead, Jason’s hands travelled down his forearms. As his fingers reached Percy’s, his chest came into contact with Percy’s back. Percy’s whole body erupted in a shiver as he felt Jason press tighter against him and watched their fingers lace together. Jason pressed his nose to Percy’s neck and Percy moaned, relaxing against the human’s warm body.

He was about to let his eyes drift shut when he remembered the last time they’d embraced and how terrible it made him feel after. He jerked and tried to swim forward, but Jason’s hands, still intertwined with his, locked around his waist and held fast. Jason tried to spin him around, but having less leverage in the water with his human legs than Percy’s heavy tail, he ended up orbiting Percy.

Percy waited, a bit bewildered that Jason didn’t understand that he needed to be alone after this turn of events.

Jason stared hard at him, studying his face intently. His nostrils were flared and he looked angry, something that Percy had never really seen all the times that Jason had chastised him for his behavior.

And then Jason did the most mer thing Percy had ever witnessed a human do.

He threw caution to the wind and pulled Percy in for a smoldering kiss.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First thing first: THANK YOU for all the comments! I really enjoyed reading them all with all your theories and questions. Unfortunately, I couldn't answer them all because trying to answer kind of muddied up the plot in my head. But I read them all and thank you, thank you, thank you. (I'm going through and answering all the comments with questions today.)
> 
> There's new NSFW fanart of this fic! You can find it [here](https://razielim.tumblr.com/post/121713438653/kinkyjercy-who-needs-to-write-merman-managed).
> 
> And of course, [this fanart](https://razielim.tumblr.com/post/118677295833/at-least-like-this-youre-finally-behaving) is what started this whole fic, and it's actually part of this chapter!
> 
> Plus, someone asked me how well mermaids function outside of the water, so I wrote a [nice long post](https://razielim.tumblr.com/post/159414486378/okay-your-merman-fic-is-literally-one-of-the-best) about that. 
> 
> Last thing: this chapter is mostly a smut scene, and it's on the dubcon-noncon spectrum. Reader discretion advised.

Jason’s hands were everywhere.

He was pulling on Percy's hair and feeling up his chest. Just as Percy started desperately trying to push into the touch, Jason maneuvered his arms around to grip his waist and squeeze his rear. Then one hand snuck around to massage the front of his tail, and Percy was lost, no longer able to keep track of all the things Jason was doing.

Percy could only moan and gasp and fight to keep them afloat. His brain was hazy with emotion- relief and pleasure and validation all fought for dominance. Everything Jason did felt better than he could have ever imagined… until Jason fingered inside Percy’s penile opening.

His mind screeched to a halt, body completely frozen in overstimulation.

Merfolk didn’t generally reach _inside_ to pull the penis out. Even when masturbating, no matter how horny, Percy had always played with the surrounding area first, patiently waiting for the erection to come out on its own. But he wasn’t sure if he was even physically _capable_ of stopping Jason’s curious fingers, the way his arms had seized up around the human’s neck at the overwhelming painful pleasure in his tail.

Apparently, his tail had seized too, because the next moment, he was submerged and sinking, Jason’s fingers hurriedly pulling out of him. Percy moaned in relief and palmed his front, trying to dissipate the sensation. His cock was ready to protrude, but he left it well enough alone, not interested in rushing it. Fucking _humans_. Always had to have everything _now_. Once the shock wore off, he looked up at Jason. The man was still suspended at the surface but had his face underwater and was watching him with concern. Percy rose.

“What happened?”

Percy growled mer curses and made some gestures like “ _How do I even_ begin _to explain why you should_ never _do that again?_ ” But aside from wincing at Percy’s loud chittering voice, Jason just stared, completely bewildered. Finally, Percy used his hands to illustrate his opening and fingers reaching in to pull the penis out. He hissed and made a pained face.

“Oh… then… Huh. Does it just come out on its own, then?”

Percy nodded.

Jason looked like he was having a minor existential crisis at this new information. They stared at each other for a bit, the air between them awkward. Finally, Jason shook his head.

“Sorry. I won’t do that again.” His eyes dropped to Percy’s mouth. “Um. Could I…”

Not needing the sentence finished, Percy leaned forward and kissed him. It was a much slower kiss this time, Jason very much trying to restrain himself from his reckless passion. As Percy parted his lips to allow Jason’s tongue to slide teasingly against his own, he had a moment of clarity. Jason had never before said that he didn’t return Percy’s feelings. His rejections had only ever mentioned fear of punishment.

New life was fueled into the kiss as Percy pushed himself tighter against Jason, almost crying at his epiphany that Jason most likely had felt just as victim to his own emotions and circumstances as Percy had.

Jason groaned in appreciation, digging his fingers into the powerful muscles of Percy’s rear. Now and then, he’d pull away to kiss down Percy’s neck and up his chin. As the kiss heated up, his hands started to wander again, though a lot less aggressively this time. Percy shivered as his cock finally pushed out of its sheath and met the much cooler water. He tried to roll his hips against the front of Jason’s trunks, but the motion was awkward when done on the surface, jostling them both and stirring up waves.

Jason pulled away gasping.

“Maybe we should continue on land?”

Percy nodded, pressing another kiss to Jason’s mouth before steering them to the tank exit. Once there, and after Jason had gotten out, Percy used his tail to propel his body upwards as he pushed up with his arms. His tail was immensely heavy, and even with the extra boost, it was difficult to pull it out of the water at a vertical. _Especially_ when he was trying not to crash his straining cock against the concrete. Once out, he looked to Jason and was immediately met with a brief but heavy kiss.

“Do you think you can get through the door?”

Jason’s gaze flickered to the entrance he used to come in every night, and Percy turned to examine it. Those steps leading up to it didn’t inspire confidence, but he could certainly try. Nodding, he pushed himself up off the floor as much as he could and crawled forward.

It was hard work. No matter how strong his arms, there was only so much of his body he could lift without losing balance while travelling. And unfortunately, every inch of his tail still in contact with the floor created extra drag, making his task even more difficult. The greatest challenge, however, was making sure not to drag his cock along the floor. He had to keep his body at an angle that caused all the muscles in his back and obliques to cramp up from the uneven effort. Next time, he’d do this _before_ getting hard and presenting.

The steps weren’t as difficult as he’d thought they’d be, though he was absolutely certain his arms would be too sore to move tomorrow. Once at the door, Jason helped him get the leverage to get his tail over the high stoop without hurting himself.

Percy took a moment to lay there and pant for a moment, looking around the hallway. It was a bit less sterile looking than the cargo hallway he’d been brought in through- the walls were made of something other than painted concrete and the light was less harsh. Propping himself up on his elbow as he caught his breath, he watched Jason unlocking a door just a few feet away. The human let the door swing open and turned the light on inside.

"Um- home, sweet home?"

Percy crawled forward to look.

Jason had pictures and documents all over his walls. Some of the pictures were large posters of merfolk, and some were smaller, private photos of Jason with other people. There were some newspapers on the walls, all with headlines about Percy or other merfolk discoveries, but most of the documents were sheets of paper with tiny words on them and passages circled in purple marker.

"Um... I do a lot of writing as part of my job. Articles, blogs, papers... So this is all sources and information and inspiration."

Percy nodded and dragged himself further inside the room on his palms. He heard the door close behind him as he curled his tail in, but he was more interested in absorbing his surroundings. The room looked much less bland than the hallway and Percy’s deck. It was lit up with a warm light that was easier on Percy’s sensitive eyes, and there were fluffy rugs covering the ugly grey concrete near the desk and the bed. The windows had curtains decorated in delicately stylized purple eagles. Two bookshelves stood against one wall, full of books and papers to the point where it looked like stuff must regularly fall from them. And the bed... Percy considered everything outside of the water to be by definition supremely uncomfortable, but that bed looked like it might give his seaweed a run for its money. He had only vague images in his mind of what a human bed was supposed to looks like, but he certainly hasn't expected such a large structure covered in so many pillows.

"You need help getting on there?"

Percy looked up over his shoulder. Jason looked even more handsome in the warm, dim light of his bedroom, with the shadows accentuating all the right curves of his face. He nodded and dragged his body closer to the bed, then motioned for Jason to grab his waist. Together, with a lot of groaning from Jason, they managed to get his upper body onto the sheets. Percy froze when his face hit the fabric as he collapsed from the effort. This felt a little like heaven. He definitely needed one of these in his tank.

Determined to get the full effect, he got his tail onto the bed, inch by inch, bracing the end of it against the floor until he had his center of gravity up. Then he wormed toward the center and flipped onto his back, spreading his hands out. Amazing.

"You like it? Memory foam. It works magic."

Percy grinned at him. Magic was a good word for this sensation. He watched as Jason climbed onto the bed, amused by the way the man’s hands and knees sunk into the softness. Hot breath ghosted over his ear, and he looked up, startled by the reminder of why they were there.

Jason's pupils were huge, and in the dim light, they seemed to be glittering. Beautiful. Percy's lips found Jason's of their own volition, pulling his whole upper body up to wrap his arms around Jason's broad shoulders. Carefully, Jason lowered himself on top of him, the cool of his still damp swimming shorts sending delightful sparks through Percy's tail. He moaned and pulled Jason down tighter. Remembering about his now almost flaccid but still protruding cock, he rolled his hips up to get some light friction going for both of them. Jason groaned in appreciation and his right arm swung down to grip possessively at Percy's waist.

Percy's mind drifted. He kept thinking about how grateful he was that he'd ended up with Jason as his trainer. He felt his eyes get wet at the thought of how lucky he was to have this chance to experience love and a lover after all. He gripped tighter, kissed more fervently, determined to express his adoration and devotion.

Jason whispered Percy's name against his lips and Percy realized that Jason hadn't yet engaged him in a conversation about his feelings. He had no way of knowing what was going on in the human’s head. A wave of anxiety rushed over him and then disappeared just as quickly as Percy decided that kissing was probably more important at the moment.

A strong hand wrapped around his dick, and he gasped into Jason's mouth. His tail thrashed under Jason's legs as the pleasure of being touched there spread up and down his whole front. Jason was being a lot more gentle after the earlier incident and it was like sweet torture. He gasped, _"More!"_ but it only came out in gurgles unintelligible to human ears. Then Jason's hand let go of him completely and the man sat up.

Percy's eyes flew open to glare at him incredulously. What _now?_ But Jason wasn't looking- his entire attention was on getting his shorts off his legs.

Percy stared, fascinated.

The human’s genitals weren't really all that surprising. He hadn't been expecting the sack that was hanging under the penis, but otherwise the whole thing was pretty straightforward. The length and girth, though impressive and bigger than anything he’d ever imagined, weren’t particularly shocking. Percy was familiar with the concept of cocks coming in all shapes and sizes, having compared himself with his friends when he was younger. He reached out, wanting to return the favor. Jason's cock was... maybe spongier was the word. The skin was more delicate than Percy's thick, smooth, but still sensitive flesh. The prominent veins were an odd addition. While Percy's veins were visible as dark purple streaks below the surface, they didn't bulge like Jason's. The wrinkles and folds leading to the sack gave way easily when he smoothed his thumb over them. The biggest difference was definitely the hair. It was denser, darker, and coarser here than anywhere else on Jason's body, and it tickled Percy's knuckles as he stroked Jason to full hardness. Getting curious about it, Percy reached his other hand to play with the ash blonde curls, petting and pulling them lightly.

As he stroked, the odor of human musk got heavier in the room. At some point, Percy found himself more aware of the smell than the feel of Jason. It was such an odd sensation, being able to smell someone so distinctly through the air rather than taste their presence in the water. He groaned as beads of precome oozed out from Jason's tip and rolled down his length, making the cock more slick and more familiar in Percy's hand.

Jason's hand on his stilled his motion and he looked up in question. Jason groaned.

"Fuck, you look _so good_ right now. All... enthusiastic and earnest and... curious. Wanna fuck you _so bad_."

As he spoke, he stroked both hands up and down Percy's abs, pausing here and there to knead the muscle. Percy blushed and grinned at the compliments. It was the most Jason had said so far about how he felt, and with his dick full and aching, it was exactly what Percy wanted to hear. Jason returned the smile and bent down to kiss him. Then he pressed a kiss to his ear before nuzzling it and whispering hot words across Percy's skin.

"Turn over for me."

Percy crinkled his brow in confusion but did as asked, his arms and tail having trouble cooperating in his highly aroused state. The cool, silky fabric felt odd against his dick, but he rutted against it without any discrimination, needing to relieve some of the tension.

Jason kissed his neck and Percy couldn't help the giggle that produced. He swatted playfully at Jason's hip behind him. Jason chuckled and moved his kiss lower to the meat of his shoulder, his spine, his shoulder blade, lower, lower, lower until he reached Percy's scales and gave them a solid lick. Percy giggled again and wiggled around in the bed, amused and flattered by the thorough attention he was getting. Jason didn't stop there. His mouth travelled down until Percy's breath hitched because if Jason wasn't careful, he'd end up kissing something he shouldn't-

Percy froze. He heard another chuckle from down below as a hot tongue dragged leisurely across his hole. Percy's mouth ran dry and his fingers curled so harshly into the pillows he thought he might rip them. _Jason, what the fuck are you doing?_ He bumped his hips off the mattress, trying to fix Jason’s mistake before the man realized exactly what he’d done. But instead of moving on, Jason got a firm grip on his backside, planted his thumbs near Percy’s hole, and pulled outward, gently but firmly. Percy held a lungful of air in, eyes wide as he stared down at the sheets in front of him. Slow and purposeful, Jason’s tongue slid against him again, pushing in a little halfway through its path. Air punched out of Percy’s mouth as his chest convulsed in shock. No way. Jason licked him again, and again, and Percy found himself gasping, his hips twitching under the sensation. By the time he finally remembered how to move his arms and had a chance to push Jason away, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to. This might be the strangest thing that had ever happened to him, but it was pleasurable as hell. His face _burned_ at the thought.

Pleasurable or not, Percy finally groaned and swung his right hand back to swat at Jason’s head. Jason pulled away, grabbed his hand, kissed it, and then buried his face back into Percy’s tail, shoving his tongue even deeper than before. A cry tore out of Percy’s lips as his tail twisted to push back against the hot tongue. He tried to pull his hand back to clutch at the sheets, but found that it was still held tightly in Jason’s possessive grip. His skin broke out in shivers as if he was sick with fever at the strength he felt in those fingers. Jason pulled up.

“You’re so soft down here.”

Percy looked over his shoulder to meet Jason’s eyes. Jason’s gaze smouldered and, under its intensity, Percy felt even more vulnerable and flustered than when Jason’s tongue was opening him up. Jason dove down for a quick kiss to his hole before reestablishing eye contact.

“You taste good too. Humans don’t taste that good here. I guess because your body works a bit differently...”

Jason trailed off as his eyes moved over Percy’s body as if they could look inside and unlock all the secrets of the merman’s body. Percy’s head swivelled to stare at the sheets again. He wanted to writhe under Jason’s scrutiny. Soft fingerpads trailed gently over the lines of muscle framing his spine. They delicately tapped down his tailbone before coming to rest where Jason’s tongue had been. The familiar burn returned to Percy’s face as the soft finger tips rolled around the rim. Where the hell did Jason get the idea to do this? Was this common for humans to do?

Percy squeaked.

A finger had pushed inside him, easily pressing forward and twisting. Percy wanted to squirm away, to push Jason off and call it a night, but he let the human continue his exploring, too curious about what would happen next to let his instincts take over. He could feel his flesh yield to the exploration, letting Jason push his finger in all the way.

“You’re so different inside. Softer, plusher. But still so tight. I guess because your digestion works differently. Or… your excrement does.”

Percy groaned and lunged his head down to bury it in his arm that wasn’t being restrained by Jason. He did _not_ want to be reminded of what that hole was normally used for. Jason laughed a bit.

“Sorry! Sorry, my inner scientist couldn’t help but make the observation. Definitely the wrong time.”

Jason pulled his finger out.

“Don’t move- I need to get something.”

Letting go of Percy, Jason rolled off the bed. He pulled open a drawer in a little table by the side of the bed. Happy to finally get his other arm back, Percy curled it in front of him and watched Jason pull out a clear squeeze tube full of what looked like water. The human climbed back on the bed, straddling Percy’s tail once more.

“I think that softness is deceitful. It seems like I could easily push more fingers in, but it’s actually very tight. And I’m pretty sure that your hole is going to be more prone to irritation and inflammation _because_ of how much soft tissue is covering the muscle.”

Percy didn’t exactly follow the line of thinking. Only thing he really picked up on was that Jason intended to push _more_ fingers inside him. He watched over his shoulder, apprehensive and still not understanding what the point of all this embarrassment and discomfort was. If he was absolutely certain that it wouldn’t offend Jason, he would firmly tell the man to stop, but he had no way of knowing how Jason would react. Considering how single-mindedly he was pursuing his goal, this ritual must be important to human mating.

Jason squirted some of the contents of the tube onto his fingers and worked it around. Turned out it wasn’t water, but something a lot more viscous, and it glistened on Jason’s skin. Jason caught his curious gaze.

“I guess you guys don’t need lube in the water, huh?”

Percy shrugged, not knowing how to concisely communicate that they didn’t _do_ this in the water.

Jason’s fingers pushed against his flesh again and Percy turned away, still way too embarrassed by the act to even try to watch Jason. There were definitely two fingers pressing into him this time. The fit was a lot tighter, though they seemed to sort of _slip_ further into him now and then. He guessed it was the lube. Percy focused on his breathing as Jason’s fingers steadily started to pull out and then push back in within a shallow range. He found himself having to suck a breath in  every time the fingers pulled away from each other inside him, stretching him further. Now and then, Jason would push down inside him and Percy couldn’t help the way his shoulders lurched back. Jason would just coo, pet Percy’s rear with his free hand, and continue stretching.

Another finger was wormed in, and Percy almost wished he had legs so he could spread them and better accommodate the stretch. He pulled his tail a bit under himself and tried to relax the muscles that Jason was stretching, but it didn’t make much of a difference. Frustrated, Percy swung an arm back and cupped the swell of his ass, trying to pull it outward to relieve some of the building pressure. Jason moaned and massaged his fingers downward more firmly.

“Good boy. So good for me.”

The increased pressure that Jason applied sent shudders up Percy’s spine, and he tried to get his tail to leverage his rear higher. His fingers scrabbled for purchase against his smooth scales to try to open himself up more to Jason.

He couldn’t remember when he’d started whimpering, but he realized now that he was making noises ceaselessly. How was it possible for this to feel so good? He couldn’t help but wonder how humans discovered this, though his puzzling kept being interrupted by shocks of tight pleasure somewhere right in the core of his tail.

He’d never before considered that there was anything more to merman pleasure than the obvious. His cock was all he’d ever been aware of reacting whenever he’d felt aroused in the past. But it seemed as if whatever Jason was massaging inside him was also made of erectile tissue and was swelling inside him, pressed down on all sides by powerful core and tail muscles, leaving him feeling breathless and needy but unsure of how to satiate this new desire.

Jason finally leaned in to kiss his neck and the nerves in Percy’s back felt like they lit up and started glowing, he was so aware of Jason’s body above him. _Please, please, please touch me._ He wanted more than anything for Jason to press his body fully against him. The fingers inside him might be teaching him new and amazing things about his body, but being wrapped up with someone and tightly pressed to them in a frantic rush towards climax was his fantasy. It was what he’d always imagined doing with Jason and he couldn’t help but feel that being teased this way, pleasured only in one small area, was cheaper somehow. He wanted the real thing- the passion and the sweat and tears and the hot, hot simmer of skin pressed against skin.

He was pulled out of his cravings when he felt Jason’s hand sneak under his hips to palm at his cock. Percy moaned and made some more room for the action, arching his back harder, pushing himself further onto Jason’s fingers. He wanted to cry out and ask for _more_ , but he let his words trail out into unintelligible gurgles, knowing there was no point in enunciating for someone who wouldn’t understand him anyway.

“Shhh- so impatient.”

Percy shivered at the hot breath that Jason let trail over his neck and shoulder as he spoke.

“Hold still, ok? I’m going to prop you up a bit to make this easier.”

Jason pulled his hands away from him, and Percy had to release his rear to quickly brace his hand on the bed as he started to tip to the side without the human’s support. He started to lower his hips back down, but Jason reached out to hold them in place. He shushed Percy again, stroking his thumbs down his flank, and then released him once more.

Percy turned his head to the side to watch as Jason leaned forward. The man grabbed a small pillow at the head of the bed and sat back. Getting Percy to shift his hips to one side, he pushed it under Percy’s tail. Percy sighed in pleasure as the silky texture slid past his cock. He rolled his hips for some friction and Jason chuckled.

“Wound you up pretty tight, haven’t I?”

Percy moaned agreement.

Jason laughed- Percy loved that he sounded so breathless- before swinging a leg over Percy’s tail and settling down to straddle him. He ran his hands up and down Percy’s back, sighing in pleasure.

“So beautiful...”

There was now something much hotter and bigger than fingers nudging up to his hole. Percy tried to clench down to deny it entry, but the sensation felt weird- his hole was puffy and swollen- his muscles felt like they were being thwarted by his flesh. Jason groaned and carefully pushed a thumb inside him, gently opening him as his fingers fanned out and braced against Percy’s scales for leverage. Percy could hear Jason’s other hand stroking himself wetly, apparently having applied lube to his cock. Now and then, Jason’s knuckles brushed against Percy’s tail and Percy’s suspicions were confirmed. The hot and big thing that was lined up to push into him was Jason’s erection.

He started to fuss, now really nervous about what was happening. He didn’t want to offend Jason, but he didn’t want this to happen either. He just started trying to surreptitiously inch forward, when Jason’s hips pushed forward, pressing the tip of his cock firmly against Percy’s opening. As Percy tried to clench again, he realized that part of the tip was actually inside his slightly swollen hole.

He couldn’t help the nervous whine that slipped out.

“Shhh- it’s ok. Relax. I don’t want to hurt you. Relax.”

Percy closed his eyes as they started to burn with gathering tears and dropped his head down to the bed- face, ears, and neck burning with embarrassment. Maybe even a bit more than embarrassment. This felt shameful. But he did as Jason asked, and relaxed his muscles for Jason’s cock, focusing on the area and letting his muscles go, one at a time, from the inside of his tail to the surface. Jason hissed in approval, petting his back again.

“Yes… just like that.”

The head of the cock pushed in.

Percy kept still, only lightly whimpering and trying to relax further. He again wished he had legs so he could spread them and make this easier. Jason kept petting him and shushing him and offering words of comfort as he slowly but firmly pushed in, withdrawing a bit back now and then to keep the pressure from being one long, solid effort, and giving Percy some reprieve so he could catch his breath and relax more. Jason _felt_ even bigger than he _looked_ and it was hard for Percy to hold still. His tailfin slapped down on the bed. As Jason pushed the last couple inches, it slapped down a few more times, an involuntary reaction to the stress Percy was feeling. Jason’s left hand snatched it and held it as it smacked against his thigh.

He stopped moving as he finally bottomed out.

Percy whined and nudged his hips in small movements, trying to relieve the tight stretch on his rim. The action must have seemed eager to Jason, because the human chuckled and rolled his hips firmly a couple times.

“At least like this, you’re finally behaving, Percy.”

Percy turned his head to the side to moan loudly, no longer able to breathe properly while trying to hide his face.

Jason put some more power into the next roll of his hips, and Percy was again reminded of that internal pleasure Jason had been stoking earlier. With each thrust it seemed to bloom and swell, reawakened after being ignored for a while. He once again wished that Jason would press against him with his whole body. He threw his hand out onto Jason’s thigh to get his attention, pulling at it once their eyes locked.

Jason misunderstood.

He tightened his grip on Percy’s rear and tail and thrust faster, punching cries out of Percy’s throat. Percy tried a few more times to get what he needed, pulling on Jason’s hip, his side, his forearm, but each time it just spurred Jason on to faster, more forceful effort.

Percy was actually crying now. Half his face buried in the bed, hot tears rolling onto the sheets, Percy mourned his inability to speak human. He wanted so bad the comfort of Jason’s body against his during such an uncomfortable and humiliating act. His insides were getting more and more swollen, putting more pressure on that internal erectile tissue, but also making the presence of Jason’s cock ever more tighter and overwhelming. Jason noticed too. Percy heard him choke as he faltered and fell forward to brace his weight on one arm.

“How are you getting _tighter?_ ”

Percy took the opportunity. Turning to face the hand Jason had put on the bed, he arched up and reached back, lifting his upper body to get a hand around Jason’s neck. Jason, having just gotten his rhythm back, faltered as his eyes met Percy’s. He let himself be pulled forward, his front connecting with Percy’s back across every inch of sweaty skin.

“You alright?”

Percy mewled, and rubbed his ear against Jason’s jaw and neck. Jason let go of Percy’s tail, reaching around his waist instead. The hand on the bed slid under Percy’s hips and gripped his cock, which had made a slick mess on the pillow. Percy shuddered in gratitude. This was what he’d wanted. If Jason wanted to use his body like this- fine- but he needed to be _held_. Needed to be shown love.

He sobbed and Jason held him tighter, establishing a slow, solid rhythm that set Percy’s internal pleasure alight. Percy realized that he actually _felt_ the swollen flesh inside his hole get pulled out a bit with Jason’s dick every time the human’s hips moved back. And then it would get pushed back in on the next thrust. Unsure whether that was gross and shameful or intimate and erotic, Percy pressed tighter against Jason. He angled his face up for a kiss and Jason met him. With the angle, the kiss turned out messy, but Percy didn’t care. Jason’s hand got tighter around his cock and Percy had to pull away as his breath seemed to disappear.

Jason hit orgasm.

Percy could feel him release inside him, pulsing hot come deep into him. The human’s head fell forward with a grunt and he buried his face into Percy’s neck, moaning in a very high, thin tone across Percy’s skin. His hips stuttered out an almost violent staccato as his grip increased pressure around Percy straining, eager cock.

Percy let his shame go. He turned away from Jason, closed his eyes, and imagined the human frotting against his front, arms wrapped around Percy, hands locked in the small of Percy’s back. He imagined his own elbows thrown over Jason’s shoulders, fingers tangling in Jason’s hair. He imagined the kiss, deep and playful, and he saw in his mind’s eye their flushed cocks straining against each other, slick and sticky and desperate for release.

The erectile bundle inside him flared a cold-hot wave of pleasure that travelled up his cock and radiated into surrounding muscles, causing spasms as it passed. Percy cried out as he spilled all over the pillow and Jason’s hand.

They lay together shuddering for a long while. As Jason’s breathing evened out, he pulled his hands out from under Percy and gently stroked Percy’s sides. He mumbled incoherent words of love and pressed smiles and kisses against Percy’s neck, setting the skin there abuzz with soft pleasure. Percy blinked slowly as he took in the reassuring sensation of being pinned by Jason’s weight in this peaceful and loving moment.

Finally, Jason sat up and carefully, slowly, pulled out.

He gasped.

Percy turned to look over his shoulder curiously. Jason was staring at his rear, cheeks glowing with a blush. Though he looked distinctively tired, his eyes were wide and his mouth was parted with wonder.

“God, you’ve got such a pretty fucking hole...”

A curious finger poked at him, and Percy realized that it was touching some of the swollen flesh he’d felt protrude earlier.

“Does that hurt?”

Percy shook his head. There was a dull ache deeper inside him that would probably hurt tomorrow, and the very rim was sore, but the internal part that was exposed to the air just felt puffy and sensitive.

“I’ve never seen this happen to a human. Well… in porn, after fisting, but not after just- are you sure it doesn’t hurt?”

Percy nodded.

“Huh. Alright. But _god_ … It’s just so pretty and neat. They don’t always look like this in porn- they’re all wrinkly. Yours is so neat. So _pretty_.”

Percy didn’t know what he was talking about. He didn’t know what porn was. And he was starting to feel that earlier embarrassment and humiliation sneak back into his consciousness. He rolled, getting his rear out of Jason’s direct line of sight. Jason looked up, looking surprised and then guilty.

“Sorry! Did that- was I making you self-conscious? Sorry. I’ve just never seen that happen in person before.”

Percy looked away. It must have been answer enough because Jason crawled up his body and lay down next to him, face to face.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

Percy looked up into his eyes, curious. If he hadn’t meant to cause embarrassment, then why mount him and dominate him like that? What other point was there to that act? He doubted this was some quirk unique to Jason. Percy wouldn’t put it past humans to make even sex about dominating one another. But Jason _did_ seem earnest in his apology.

He pressed his forehead to Jason’s and closed his eyes, wondering why he felt so damn sad.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo, new chapter, finally! The next thing I'm going to write is [Jane](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3034457?view_full_work=true), though, so unfortunately the next update won't come any faster. I, unfortunately, just don't have a schedule that allows time for writing. Ever. I had to use a vacation day to finally finish this up.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tadaaa! I've had half of this written for like five months now, and finished the rest a couple weeks ago, but I couldn't seem to sit down and make myself edit/publish. Oops.
> 
> The next chapter is actually written too, but I think I want to write a couple more chapters before I publish it.
> 
> Hopefully I can get out of my emotional slump and get back into working on stuff regularly. Thanks for being patient with me.

Percy’s face burned.

His fingertips briefly skimmed the ring of puffy skin again, and he once more cupped his hands to hide it.

He swore his ears would melt and fall off if they got any hotter.

Zooming off into another bed of seaweed, he glanced at the glass. Curious faces were pressed to it, more enthusiastic than they’d been in the past couple weeks. Their hungry eyes following his every move made it seem like they knew what had happened last night and were dying to see his reaction. In reality, however, they were probably just curious about why he was so jumpy. Obviously, word had gotten around that he was a mopey and somewhat disturbed creature, and today’s visitors could tell that his sudden energy was a real treat.

Percy groaned.

Really? _Really?_ He’s just a bubble of anxiety today, and they’re all _entertained_ suddenly?

Pressing his backside further down into the dense seaweed, he poked at the swollen and protruding opening in his tail again. It was so _soft_. So plush and delicate and _sensitive_. Percy tried to school his features, which were threatening to melt under the sudden pleasure. He should probably wait until after closing to investigate his problem, when there wouldn’t be about 40 inquisitive faces intently watching his every move, but the curiosity, anxiety, and yes, wonder, were killing him.

Percy considered once more turning away from his audience, but the idea of turning his back to them, of revealing _that_ to them, even if his rear was fully hidden in the seaweed, made him queasy.

Jason had mentioned how special this phenomenon was. How he’d never seen it in person before and how beautiful it was. And though Percy still wanted to give that man a piece of his mind, he also wanted to keep this… _thing_ private between the two of them.

He released a shaky sigh thinking about last night.

The whole thing was so confusing. His lover had been so… so _tender_. And so passionate. But he’d also scared Percy with the humiliating acts he’d performed. Percy yearned for him, wanted those hands all over his body once more, wanted to feel that feverish pleasure that even Jason’s most obscene acts had wrought from his body. And yet he was scared. What more did Jason have in store for him? Were their acts in bed reflective of how Jason viewed him? Did he expect submission from Percy now that they were lovers? Had he ever considered them equals, or did he always view Percy as someone to be conquered?

A shudder shook his head and his shoulders.

He’d never gotten that impression from Jason. And even if that _was_ what Jason expected, well… a small part of Percy actually liked the idea. That scared him too.

He was a _merman_. It wasn’t his heritage to be submissive. And yet he liked the way Jason had taken charge when they were making love. He just didn’t like what that might say about him as a person. Did the dynamic of their relationship prove that Percy was subhuman? Was he just kidding himself when he asserted in his own mind that he was equal to the humans he encountered? Or was he actually, deep-down, a servile creature with delusions of grandeur?

This time his heavy sigh came with a wine. He didn’t want to think of himself that way. It didn’t just hurt his pride, it wounded his identity, his entire sense of self.

A familiar tickle started up inside him and he froze.

Not again.

The first time this had happened after Jason had returned him to the water late last night, Percy had wanted to crawl out of his skin, he’d been so alarmed. His waste normally passed so easily he hardly noticed it. The pellets were small, hard, and smooth. They had no trouble moving through his soft insides. But last night and this morning, his entire passage was sensitized. Swollen from the friction of Jason’s penetration, the puffy tissue made his passage tighter than normal and protruded into what Jason had called a rosebud and what Percy had been compulsively touching all morning. This sensitivity and inflammation made the normally unobtrusive bodily function very much conspicuous.

Percy rose from his bed and swam to the other side of the aquarium, still careful to keep his back away from the humans at the glass. The pellets passed and slowly sank to the bottom of the tank floor where they would later be picked up by the cleaners, but on their way out, they did strange things to Percy’s nerves, making him forget about the anger and hurt he had. He wanted very much to feel that deep sense of fullness again. The memory of Jason sliding into him and setting him alight tingled through his sheathed cock.

Percy settled on one of the beds at the bottom of the tank.

He was aroused. Which was not an effect he’d ever imagined he’d get from simply relieving himself, but here he was. _Aroused_.

He noticed the young man again. The brunette artist. He looked concerned. When he noticed Percy was watching him, his face relaxed a little and he gave a small wave. Tired, confused, hurt, and in tremendous need of comfort, Percy decided the gesture was well-appreciated, and he waved back.

Chaos.

People that had been standing a little bit away from the glass now pushed forward eagerly, pressing their noses against the barrier until their features flattened and paled, making them look about as ridiculous and dumb as a herd of manatees. Flashes went off as people scrambled for their phones and cameras. Security jumped forward to remind the visitors that flash photography was strictly forbidden. And forbidden for good reason, because Percy immediately had to look away and shield his face, blinking stars out of his eyes.

People banged on the glass, dull thumps that sounded like bad drumming. He could vaguely make out some squeals of excitement from children and young women.

When the flashing died down, Percy looked back at the crowd. It took him a while, but he finally found the young man. He was standing further toward the other side of the tank now, away from the glass. Percy figured that the crowd must have jostled him out of the way, but the man didn’t look too upset. Instead, he was grinning ear to ear, and though he was standing far enough away from the glass that it was hard to make out exactly, Percy was almost certain the boy was flushed from the roots of his hair all the way down his neck.

Percy looked away to hide a grin.

Yeah, that blonde boy definitely didn’t have a chance so long as the brunette was so enamored with Percy.

Some of his good mood returned after that. Yes, all the worries of earlier still swirled through his head, but the waving incident had helped reinforce his sense of self.

He _was_ merfolk and nothing Jason did could take that away. He was mischievous and playful and he’d just put a spoke in the wheels of a potential romance. He imagined the sense of frustration the poor blonde would feel when he had to listen to his friend gush in great detail about how the merman had smiled and waved back to him.

Yes, no matter what happened with Jason, Percy was still a little bit of an asshole and being reminded of that felt pretty damn good.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

He’d chosen not to come up when Jason had come to feed him earlier. As much as he wanted to see Jason, he didn’t really feel comfortable swimming up to the surface with everyone watching. Turning to communicate with Jason would put his rear on display to the visitors. Not that they’d be able to see anything so high above them, but still.

By the time it was midnight, he was so anxious to see Jason, see how the human felt about last night, that he was up at the surface, holding onto the grate, trying to squeeze his head through the fenced metal. Not that he could, but his stomach was in knots and he needed something to do while he waited.

As soon as he heard the lock clicking, however, it occurred to him how absolutely ridiculous he must look, and he dropped back down into the water, his arm muscles flooding with relief. They were still sore after crawling around on land yesterday.

Jason came up to the tank and eagerly looked down, his face blooming in pleasure at the sight of Percy.

“Hey! I… I was almost worried you didn’t want to see me, since you didn’t come up earlier.”

Percy tried his best to look apologetic, but he knew that embarrassment ruled his features. He _did_ have a good reason for not coming up, he just couldn’t explain it to the human.

Jason unlocked the gate and sat down on the edge, kicking his feet in the water.

“I heard the visitors were very excited today. You waved at them?”

Percy could only noncommittally shake his head and hold up a finger to show that he’d waved to just one person.

“Yeah, well- just the one time was already enough to get everyone talking about it. I didn’t even hear about it from Mr. D- just saw it on twitter. Why’d you do it?”

This wasn’t the conversation Percy wanted to be having, but he humored Jason. He mimed the tank wall, mimed the man that had waved to him, mimed himself waving back.

“That’s it? That’s all it took? Someone to wave at you.”

Percy groaned and shook his head trying to emphasize with his hands that it was a specific person he’d waved to.

“Oh. So it’s… a friend?”

Percy made his standard, “ _Kind of,_ ” shrug. Jason nodded and sat back, seemingly processing the information. Then he sighed, and glanced at Percy again.

“Sorry. That’s probably not what you want to discuss most right now.”

Percy raised his eyebrows like, _“You think?”_

Jason nodded again, chuckling quietly.

“I just… Percy, I don’t know how to talk about last night. I loved it? I loved being with you? You were so sweet and perfect, and it was so exciting to wake up next to you? But… you also seemed distant after, and I’m not sure if something went wrong. Or if there was something else on your mind. And I’m afraid to ask because…”

He gestured vaguely between himself and Percy.

“I’m not sure if you’ll be able to communicate the problem. And I’m not sure if you want a repeat. And I’ve been scared all day that you don’t.”

Percy pulled his lips into his mouth and bit on them as he tried to think of how to reply.

Jason groaned.

“Oh, god. There is something wrong, isn’t there?”

Startled, Percy shook his head, and reached a hand forward to reassure Jason with a hand on his ankle. Because there wasn’t anything wrong. Not really. Or at least nothing that mattered enough for him to push Jason away. He propelled himself closer and kissed Jason’s shin, trying to think of how to sort out his thoughts into something he could explain to Jason.

“Percy?”

Percy sighed. He needed to do a lot more thinking before he could communicate the confusion in his head to Jason. And after a day of thinking really, really hard on the subject, he’d rather do other things. Yes, he wanted to express himself to Jason, but he didn’t want to accidentally give the wrong idea.

He looked up and tugged at Jason’s ankle, urging him into the water.

Jason took a bracing breath and nodded. He turned to get Percy’s dinner from the bucket he had with him.

“I’m not sure if you’re saying that there’s no problem or if you don’t know how to express it.”

Percy could only shrug as Jason tossed the fish in. That seemed to only make the human more tense, but Jason slipped into the water nonetheless, wrapping his arms around Percy’s body to keep himself on the surface.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, Jason’s legs wrapped around Percy’s lower half, Percy’s tail working gently back and forth to keep them afloat. Percy stared into Jason’s eyes, marvelling at how beautiful and intricate they were. He’d never really studied anyone’s face from close up before he’d met Jason. None of the merfolk in his life had really captured his interest enough to warrant a thorough visual mapping. Which was normal- merfolk didn’t really spend their adolescent years on much more than playing pranks and competing with one another. Courting and mating was something older mer troubled themselves with.

It was nice, being wrapped up in Jason and feeling the human’s warm breath against his own damp face. He wished he could lift that worry off of Jason’s brow, but since he couldn’t raise any topics on his own, all he could do was wait for Jason to ask a question. So he tried kissing the man instead.

Jason jerked in surprise but melted into it, pulling himself closer to Percy and winding himself tighter around Percy’s body. Percy trilled into the kiss to show his appreciation. How was it what just yesterday Jason was telling him that what he wanted was impossible, and today, Percy felt so happy he could burst?

Jason pulled away.

“You don’t regret last night?”

Percy shook his head.

“But… something happened that you weren’t happy about?”

Percy sighed and averted his gaze, unable to answer the question. He probably could, if he really tried, by pointing out his hole, but he didn’t really feel like he was brave enough to do that. Even if Jason had already seen the hole’s swollen state, it was embarrassing. And it wasn’t even the puffiness that Percy was so uncomfortable with, it was what had caused it. He sighed again and met Jason’s eyes again, tilting his head and squeezing his lips together to show that the answer was complicated.

Jason heaved a frustrated sigh, and looked like he was trying to think of a more direct question. Finally, his eyes lit up, and he looked back up, though he seemed hesitant to ask.

“Was… Percy, that wasn’t your first time, was it?”

Percy blinked. What did _that_ have to do with anything? He shook his head, then stopped, thought about it, and nodded his head. He stopped again. Wait-

“So it was? That was your first time?”

Relieved that Jason rephrased the question, Percy nodded enthusiastically.

Jason seemed taken aback, and he pulled away a bit.

“Is that what’s wrong? Was I too rough? Did- did you just feel sad after because you lost your virginity?”

Percy’s mind fumbled for a response. No, no, and no? He started shaking his head but paused. Was he upset about any of those things? They hadn’t come to mind, but that didn’t mean they weren’t a factor. He pushed out his bottom lip and shrugged. He’d think about it later, but right now, Jason needed to know that the thought hadn’t occurred to Percy before.

Jason seemed to relax.

“So it was okay for your first time? I can go slower next time.”

Percy blushed. It wasn’t the speed that was the problem. He tried to think of how to reply, but finally just pushed his fingers across Jason’s mouth in a silencing gesture and tried to make a “Shhh…” noise, though it came out as more of a hiss that had Jason’s eye twitching involuntary. Oops. Percy leaned forward and apologized for the harsh sound with a kiss.

Then he kissed Jason again just because he felt like it.

Jason seemed to melt, finally willing to let the topic go, though Percy had no doubt he’d bring it up again. Jason was tenacious like that. Which, in this case, worked in Percy’s favor, since he _did_ want to talk about it again and lacked the means to initiate conversations himself.

They settled into soft, easy kisses as Percy gently steered them around the surface of the water.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you guys are gonna kill me, but I've had this finished since January. I just wanted to finish writing the next chapter before posting. Which still hasn't happened, but honestly, I think you guys deserve this chapter anyway. Ahem.

Jason asked about Percy’s rosebud before he left. He tried to grab for it while they were kissing, but Percy smacked his hand away. When the human raised questions, he blushed wildly and backed away, refusing to answer them. Finally, Jason gave up, and asked for a good night kiss.

“It _is_ alright, though, isn’t it?” Jason asked as he was getting out of the tank. “There’s no pain or bleeding, is there?”

Percy shook his head, which was half submerged so he could hide his furiously red cheeks.

Jason looked like he was trying not to smile.

“Alright. I’m gonna have to check it tomorrow, though. Either me or someone else will. I need to make sure it’s returning to normal and you’re not hurt. No matter what sort of relationship you and I have, I _am_ responsible for your health, and I take that seriously. Understand?”

Percy didn’t respond right away, even more uncomfortable about the idea that someone other than Jason might poke and prod him there.

“Well?”

Percy nodded. It’s not like Jason hadn’t already made himself very well acquainted with the area.

Jason nodded in satisfaction and closed the grate. Percy was about to dive down, when Jason grabbed his attention again, hands still on the lock.

“Percy?”

Percy looked back.

“I love you.”

Percy would have choked if he was capable, his throat suddenly tight with emotion. Milky tears swelling in his eyes and whiting out his vision, he nodded, trying to convey with every muscle in his face that he felt the same way.

Jason smiled and nodded back, biting his lips and finally standing up to walk away.

Percy sank beneath the surface, letting the water cool his burning eyes.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

When he woke up that morning, the first thought on Percy’s mind was virginity. Was it something that was very culturally important to humans? Jason had seemed so apprehensive of the idea that he might have botched Percy’s first time, like it was somehow more significant and sacred than any other time.

Which, Jason kind of _had_ botched it, but the fact that it was Percy’s first time wasn’t the most important part of that.

To merfolk, virginity was… well, it was a state of innocence that was celebrated for its correlation with freedom. Elders often said that once you became more interested in romantic and sexual relationships, you lost some of the wonder and love for the sea that all merfolk are born with. Percy had never questioned that logic. As he was growing up, he saw more and more older cousins and friends get caught up in the courting game and completely lose sight of what was obviously the true miracle in life- the sea itself.

The sea was an endless and vast freedom. Swim where you want, do what you want. Once you were big enough to defend yourself from predators, no one could bar you from going on whatever adventure you wished.

So Percy had never been in a hurry to find someone to fall in love with, let alone lose his virginity to. Fooling around with a mermaid meant risking children, and that was the ultimate transition into adulthood. Fooling around with a merman, well… he just wasn’t interested in fooling around with anyone, period. _Eventually_ , yes, of course. Sometimes he’d get pangs of jealousy seeing a happy couple and wanting to feel that joy for himself, but that was what every creature wanted, as far as Percy could tell- to eventually find a partner in life. To find a _best friend_. Before his capture, Percy had still had plenty of friends who were his own age and similarly interested in nothing more than the sea. He hadn’t been concerned about running out of time.

Either way, losing their virginities, and _yes_ , some freedoms, was just a natural part of life for merfork. It was one of those changes that no one really celebrated but slowly started to shape folk into new creatures with new values.

His thoughts drifted back to wondering about how Jason had reacted. What did humans have to lose with their virginities? Was it simply that the event itself had cultural significance? Was there supposed to be a ritual? Should Percy have tried to inform Jason that it would be his first time so Jason wouldn’t feel like he broke tradition?

He was still trying to chase thoughts on the matter when the first visitors started arriving.

At first, he ignored them like he always did. He didn’t believe in feeding the animals. He rarely woke up this early, but he wasn’t about to do something special to mark the occasion. Maybe the visitors would learn to come in later.

He continued lolling about in his bed until he became aware of a hum. It had come from nowhere, it seemed, which meant that it had built over time. Percy tensed and listened to the undulation of the sound. After a few high notes, he realized he was hearing voices. Sitting up in bed, he looked out the tank.

Crowds of people.

He hadn’t seen this much people outside of his glass since the time everyone had learned his name. As people realized that he was sitting up and more excited fingers pointed towards him, the hum of voices grew louder.

Fantastic.

Percy reached under himself as inconspicuously as he could. His hole was still swollen and puffy, though maybe only half the size it had been yesterday. From what he’d seen when he’d tried to examine it last night, it was rich red in color, and stood out boldly against the green of his tail. He wasn’t going to check now with all these people watching him, but he guessed that it was just as visible today as it was yesterday.

So he was doomed to another day of awkwardly trying to keep from exposing his rear to the curious visitors.

He realized they were waving at him. Most of them, at least.

And suddenly it clicked.

The incident with the artist yesterday. Jason had said that he’d read about it on twitter, which was the human way to get information out to as many people as possible, as _fast_ as possible. Of course. After weeks of him refusing to do anything remotely entertaining, _of course_ all the merfolk-fascinated humans would rush to see him after it was documented that he was capable of being friendly.

The love-declaring signs were back with a vengeance too. “Marry me, Percy!” and “I love you, Percy!” and “I’m pushing for the legalization of human/mermaid marriage! You can count on me!”

He wasn’t sure, but he was pretty sure that he saw the same woman who’d had profanity on her poster last time getting escorted out again. This time, her sign said, “Fuck me with your merdick, gorgeous!” It was probably the same lady. Percy tried not to smile. That would _definitely_ be feeding the animals.

As much as these visitors annoyed him, he’d really missed the signs.

Percy watched them for a long while, wondering when they’d get bored, and while the faces were replaced steadily with new ones as earlier humans left and new humans arrived, there wasn’t an overall dampening of enthusiasm.

He kept sighing as he watched them watch him, though it was more from a sense of restfulness than anything else.

Honestly, he _did_ want to engage today. He was in high spirits after spending his evening kissing Jason and the waving was much less irritating than the glass-tapping. There was something more earnest on the faces that were shining up at him today than the hungry expressions he was used to.

But what to do? Wave? He’d do that once, maybe twice, and it would feel awkward and forced. All the new visitors coming in would want some sort of attention too. Not to mention all the visitors that would come in the following days. Most likely, people would get irate if news of his waving repeatedly got their hopes up, but he wasn’t in the mood to do it frequently. Then they’d revert to the glass-tapping again. _Joy_.

A familiar face grabbed his attention, and he tried to catch it in the crowd again, but it had already disappeared.

The artist was here today.

A couple minutes later, Percy found the man again. He was squeezed into the very corner of the vitrine, drawing in his sketchpad.

Percy formed a plan swiftly once he recognized the opportunity.

He rose up from his bed and swam over, careful to hide his back. From the corner of his eye, he could see new energy ripple through the crowd as they started to push and shove their way in the direction he was swimming.

The artist, previously absorbed in sketching the lobster that was dozing nearby, jerked up at the noise. His eyes widened as he saw Percy approach. By the time Percy settled onto the coral in front of him, winding his tail tightly around the massive growth, the man’s jaw was hanging slack. There seemed to be a hush on the other side of the glass as the adults standing closest to the man seemed to back off and hold their breath.

Percy smiled and waved.

Bedlam.

He felt the shrill vibration of children screaming. Men roared and the whole crowd lurched in Percy’s direction trying to get closer. The people closest to the artist were shoved right into the poor guy. Percy ignored all of them, his eyes trained on his chosen target as he waited for a reaction.

Honestly, for him, this was the safest route. If people realized that he wasn’t interested in _everyone_ , they were less likely to get irate. Desperate for attention, more people would try to do something interesting when they came into the aquarium rather than just gawk and hope for the best. It might get annoying after a while, but in the short term, it would certainly be fun to have the _humans_ do tricks for _him_.

Not to mention that Mr. D would be happy to hear that Percy had done at least something that was good publicity. If there was any fallout from his actions today… the artist in front of him would get the brunt of it, as he’d suddenly be under scrutiny for what made him so damn remarkable.

Percy was okay with that.

He might have a fondness for the man, but if there had to be a fallman, it was better the human than him.

The young man finally snapped out of it, and looked down at his sketchpad so he could scribble something down.

Percy grinned.

He liked this guy. The Great Merman Percy had swam directly to him, and he was just going to go back to drawing? Now _that_ was dedication.

The pad was quickly flipped over and pressed to the glass. Percy had to lean in to make it out.

_“Hi, Percy. My name is Nico. Nice to meet you.”_

Nico… funny name. Percy sat back and grinned wider. He waved, then quickly gesticulated with his hands to get his request across. _Can I see what you have in your notebook?_

It took Nico a moment to understand Percy first pointing between himself and the sketchpad, then miming pages being turned and pressed to the glass. Finally, it seemed to click and the artist scrambled to oblige. The crowd turned quiet again, eyes shifting hungrily between them.

The first drawing Nico showed him was the one he must have been working on just before Percy had swam over- Percy’s pet lobster, sleeping peacefully. Percy pressed in closer to the glass once more to study it in detail. It was a good drawing. Even though Nico hadn't had long to work on it, he’d quickly captured the likeness, blocked out the shapes, and had started in on the details.

Percy nodded his head in approval.

Nico bloomed a little and the people around him started muttering, suddenly very excited.

Percy gestured for the next page.

This one was from _definitely_ from yesterday. It was a portrait of Percy sitting in a seaweed bed. Percy knew which bed it was and which angle Nico must have been standing at when he captured this moment. The drawing was abuzz with nervous energy, like the artist had sensed how he’d been feeling and had tried to communicate that into his linework. Percy felt his face flush. Knowing _why_ he’d been so tense and anxious yesterday, he didn’t really like that there were images of him in such a state. As he kept staring at it, he saw that his arm was angled back at a weird angle and he groaned. Nico must have been watching him while he’d been exploring the fat rosebud protruding out of his rear.

Thoroughly mortified, Percy sat back.

Nico looked crestfallen and pulled the sketchbook back from the glass, looking between the Percy in the tank and the Percy on the page in confusion.

Percy shook his hand vaguely and motioned for Nico to show him a new page, wanting to brush past the moment so that his blush could finally die down. He could see people taking photos and videos out of the corner of his eye and his tail squeezed tighter around the coral as his discomfort grew.

The next drawing was of a school of fish playing near a piece of coral, and Percy started to lean forward to look at it, but remembered about his still-visible rosebud. Perhaps leaning so far forward hadn’t been such a good idea. So he squinted from a middle distance, nodding again in satisfaction. The man made good work. It would be interesting to see if he had any skill with color.

Finally, he tore his eyes away from the page in front of him and looked around at the crowd.

Adults with recording devices. Children with books and pamphlets clutched in their chubby little arms. All with their jaws slack and eyes wide. And humans had the gall to assume that _merfolk_ were unintelligent.

Still…

Nico was a human. _Jason_ was a human. Humans might be weird, with arbitrary rules, and strange sexual practices, but he couldn’t really hate them. Well, except one specific human, and _speaking_ of him…

Percy grinned and waved at Mr. D, whose fat, ruddy head was visible above the crowd near the wall. The man must have been standing on a chair or something.

The crowd turned to see whom Percy was greeting.

Mr. D seemed unprepared to have a whole crowd of people turn and stare at him in silence. For a few tense moments, he looked like a startled octopus ready to ink and hide, but then he melted a bit and offered the aquarium visitors an awkward smile. It looked like the effort _actually_ physically hurt him. When the crowds started shifting, obviously muttering amongst themselves, the man raised a hand in greeting. He included everyone in the gesture and then raised it up to acknowledge Percy, locking eyes for a second.

Percy made sure to press to the glass and bare his teeth as he smiled wider.

Mr. D’s face twitched and he looked away, speaking to the aquarium visitors. He reached out a hand and the security guy he had with him helped him step down from whatever he’d been standing on. Percy lost sight of him, but it was obvious he was coming closer as the heads of the people standing between them started shifting apart. Soon, Mr. D came into view again, with all the recording devices in the room trained on his face.

As Mr. D reached the glass, he nodded at Percy, then turned to keep his back to the glass, obviously offering a great picture-taking opportunity. Percy settled in so he was easily visible over the man’s shoulder and smiled at the crowd. His own smile was probably about as genuine as Mr. D’s, but he doubted anyone would know that except Mr. D himself. And Jason, whenever he heard about today’s events.

Mr. D reached out, and Percy looked over to see that he had grabbed Nico and had brought him up against his own fat body, probably using the young man as a publicity prop.

Which is about when Percy got bored of the whole farce and started making faces at the back of Mr. D’s head.

People guffawed. Little children pointed at the tank and shrieked with delight so loud that Percy winced.

Finally unable to control his curiosity, Mr. D turned around.

...and was met with Percy’s politely smiling face, nodding along knowingly as if he’d heard the man’s entire speech and thought it was _particularly_ inspired. More people laughed.

Mr. D gave him a malicious lip twitch, but broke out into a smile, laughing along with the crowd and jerking a thumb at Percy as he turned to look back out at his listeners, probably telling them how much the aquarium employees enjoyed Percy’s particular brand of mischief. Percy waited until everyone laughed again at whatever punchline the man had delivered, then mimed gagging. Even Mr. D’s security guard let slip a smile as laughter rolled across the crowd again and Percy turned to wink at him.

Percy was absolutely certain he saw a vein pulse in the aquarium director’s forehead as the man turned to glare at him again. Percy shrugged and let the smirk melt off his face.

It looked like Mr. D was going to continue his drivel, so Percy played his trump card as the man raised his hands to get everyone’s attention again.

Just as people turned to once more make eye contact with the man, Percy pushed off the coral and sprinted clear across to the other side of the tank, going so fast he almost hit the wall before he could stop himself. Still careful to keep his back facing away from his audience, he settled into a bed of seaweed and watched the visitors try to stampede in this direction. Mr. D was left alone in the corner, his existence and mundane spiel about his pleasure at knowing Percy personally completely forgotten.

Mischief for the day officially accomplished, Percy settled down down for a nap, completely content to ignore the banging on the glass by freshly invigorated visitors.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yayyyy fast update  
> yayyyyy me  
> did i mention- i'm working on a NEW jercy thing too? will be published with smutmas ;)

“I heard you had fun today.”

Jason looked like he was torn between disbelief and wild amusement, and Percy could only grin, pleased by how warm Jason’s voice sounded.

Jason set the heavy bucket down and went to reach in, but then pulled his hand out as he seemed to remember something. He smiled sheepishly up at Percy as he picked up the whole bucket again.

“Crabs again. After last time…”

Percy nodded and moved out of the way so that Jason could dump his dinner straight into the tank. These crabs were larger than the last ones he’d been fed, with vivid blue markings. Percy ducked down to watch them sink to the bottom for a bit. He hoped his lobster would be alright to fend for himself for a little while. Though, likely, the crabs would be to busy fighting amongst themselves to even notice him.

He raised his face out of the water again to find Jason smiling gently at him. If he could, he’d have said  _ What? _ , maybe even a little defensively, but he just tilted his head in question.

Jason shook his head.

“I wish I knew what you were thinking. I feel like I’ve got  _ something  _ of a grasp on what your motivations are- I can guess why you actually played ball with the visitors today. But I haven't got a clue why you’d want to watch those crabs fall. Were you deciding when you’d eat them? Were you thinking about how they’re not your favorite but they would do? Do they look funny going down? I just…”

Jason puffed his cheeks out as he exhaled and sat back, letting his feet slide off the deck and into the water.

“I wish I could hear your perspective.”

Percy knew what he meant. Since he couldn’t ask any complex questions, he was never sure what Jason was thinking either. He’d get glimpses of certain things- Jason was always filling up the silence talking about things he was excited about or thought Percy wanted to know. But Percy wanted to know the things Jason took for granted too.

What was it like having to live in a room?

How did Jason imagine it felt to eat live fish?

And what was it like to eat dead animals that were burned or boiled?

Obviously, Percy had food on the mind at the moment, but still. He was curious about other things too.

What was it like to live in dense human populations?

Did Jason also get a weird blurring of his thoughts whenever he thought about Percy?

How did it feel to have his cock slide into Percy?

That pretty much halted Percy’s questions on the spot as his cheeks lit up. Without meaning to, he once more reached back to feel at his hole, which was finally a reasonable size. The puff of skin was more than maybe two fingers wide.

Jason, who had been watching him, noticed the motion.

“How is it?”

Percy pulled his hand from behind him and ducked his head, watching the undulating surface of the water.

“Percy…”

He responded with a huge splash of water that drenched Jason’s entire front.

“Don’t  _ make  _ me get in there.”

Indignant, and yet really up for some play, Percy splashed him again. He did want Jason in here. And if Jason wanted to maybe explore Percy’s body a bit while he was in the tank, then Percy was okay with that. So long as Jason put forth a little effort into it.

The spark of playfulness took hold and he surged in to tug at Jason’s soft pink toes. Jason yelped, jerking his feet back out of Percy’s grip before lowering them back down and leveraging himself off the ledge. Percy waited for him to come back up for air before crowding him against the wall, pressing in against those wonderful lips.

“Percy-” Jason breathed between kisses, his arms coming up to hold Percy close, fingers brushing down over scales and Percy froze, hands on the edge of the deck above Jason’s head as his tail and chest both froze in anticipation. A moment of something intense and intimate flashed between them, Jason’s eyes too revealing, his own wide, and then warm fingers were brushing lightly over his hole, releasing starbursts of sensation and pleasure in his tail.

He managed so hold down the gasp but it became a sigh and that only felt that much more vulnerable. Jason’s eyes were still locked to his and so warm. It seemed that the human was just as short of breath as him and Percy could hardly believe that just touching Percy had such an effect on him.

His left hand slipped from the concrete above them and he let it rest on Jason’s chest, pressing against that hot skin and pressing him tighter against the wall of the tank, pushing in closer as a curious fingertip slipped inside him, just as out of place as before but less scary, more welcome.

Suddenly overcome with the need to know, Percy let his hand travel down Jason’s body, sneaking around his waist, and pushing past the elastic band of Jason’s shorts until he-

Jason gasped and laughed and it came out so breathless and full of excitement that Percy stopped what he was doing just watching as the human ducked his head in a moment of gleeful shyness before leaning in to kiss him.

Percy could barely kiss back as he wondered at the free and easy reaction. Jason’s legs wrapped around his hips and the human made no move to pull away Percy’s finger, only pushed his own deeper inside Percy’s tail.

“Percy?”

Jason's joy slowly slid down into curiosity and concern, and he pulled away from the kiss, letting his finger slip out.

“What is it?”

Percy wished he could put it to words.

Then he started laughing. It burst out of him as a loud chatter that had Jason cringing away. Unable to control himself, he clapped a hand over his mouth and sank into the water, rubbing his face as hot tears stung the corners of his eyes.

He let it all out, uncaring that Jason was kicking at the surface, no doubt confused and put off by the sudden change in atmosphere.

When he could finally school himself into a happy grin, he came back up.

Jason’s pink face was warring with insecurity and hope, and Percy let himself drink it in, feeling a bit satisfied to see Jason struggle with the same emotions that had been eating him up the past couple days.

And yet-

Yet, dear _lord_ , Jason was so achingly beautiful, with his high cheekbones and full blonde brows and wide flushed lips, and Percy felt his heart ache in wonder as the smile on his own face turned into something more fragile.

He swam up to his lover, who seemed intent on trying to disappear into the concrete wall behind him, his shoulders tense and eyes nervous.

Percy tangled his fingers into the grate above them, lips lingering just a short breath away from Jason’s.

“What was that all about?”

Jason’s voice came out small and Percy all but melted at how sweet it was.

What was it about? It was about how easily Jason had yielded to Percy’s curious touch between his legs. How happy he’d been to be touched that way. How when he’d taken Percy to his bed and done all of those dirty things to him, he must have thought Percy would be just as eager. He thought about how vulnerable and open he’s felt on those sheets and memory foam matress and dared to hope that Jason was willing to be just as vulnerable before him.

His cock ached at the thought but he just shook his head, letting himself smile at the realization that Jason had not intended anything humiliating for their mating.

Jason melted under his mouth when Percy leaned in to kiss him, and hesitant fingertips smoothed over his collarbones before coming to rest lightly on his shoulders.

Curious to try again, Percy pulled one hand down from the grate and let it follow its previous path back down into Jason’s swim shorts.

Jason pulled away, frowning a little, his eyes seeming to search Percy’s face, but he once more hooked his legs over Percy’s hips and didn’t do anything to stop him as Percy’s fingers slipped closer to their goal.

Percy’s fingers hesitated once they arrived once more at the furled hole there. He watched Jason’s face for any sort of disapproval but found none. Taking that as permission to explore, Percy massaged at the thin skin he’d found there.

It was different, certainly, from how his own opening normally was. Puckered and wrinkled, it seemed closer in delicate texture to the skin of Jason’s genitals, but with a tough layer of muscle knotted underneath, making entry difficult. He tried to wriggle a finger in but only managed about a half of the very tip, the water working against him rather than making things more smooth.

“How do you normally do it underwater?”

Percy gave Jason an unimpressed look, but it seemed to be lost on the oblivious human, so Percy rolled his eyes and pulled his finger out.

He only had a brief moment of hesitation that maybe he shouldn’t do what he was kind of maybe thinking of doing next, but chased the thought away, reaching out with both hands to spin Jason around and guide the human’s hands to the edge of the tank.

Hesitation was for humans.

And with that victorious thought, he ducked back underwater and tugged down Jason’s shorts.

It was certainly more clearly visible than a merman’s hole, even with Jason’s legs held somewhat closed by the elastic of his clothing. Percy spread the round mounds of Jason’s ass to get a closer look and felt the water around him vibrate with Jason’s deep moan as the human braced his legs on the wall to push his rear closer to Percy’s face.

He leaned in for a tiny lick- more a poke, really. Jason squirmed and pushed back, trying to catch Percy before he pulled away.

Percy hadn’t really tasted anything from that brief prod. He wondered if he might if he continued. Jason had said humans didn’t taste as good as Percy had…

Deciding he’d ignore it for Jason’s benefit, Percy leaned in again and gave a solid lick like Jason had done to him. The human’s moan, what he could hear of it, was soft and light, like he was relaxing into the sensation.

Grinning, having had quite enough of careful experiments, Percy pressed his nose as tight as it would go against Jason’s rear, and pushed his tongue inside. Easier said than done, trying to get past the tight muscle, but Jason seemed to appreciate the  _ attempt  _ just as well.

He struggled with that for a while, now and then pulling back to give the whole area thorough licks. It didn’t seem to matter to Jason either way exactly what he did so long as he was doing _something_ , and Percy found himself enjoying being able to make Jason thrash as helplessly as he had himself under the same attentions.

After a while, he realized that he could ease off a bit and tease Jason, and that produced more desperate and satisfying responses. Percy laughed as he continued, giving a small lick here, a nuzzle there, and now and then an unsatisfyingly short dig of his tongue into Jason.

When Jason pulled his hair, Percy marked the game officially won in his favor. But Jason didn’t stop pulling, and the next moment, that ass which was so eagerly pressing to him for more started turning away.

Surfacing immediately, wanting to hear what he’d done wrong, Percy was about to reach out to turn Jason when he spotted Mr. D, a few feet from the edge and walking closer, and stopped dead.

The man seemed startled to see Percy and Jason so close to the open grate, and took a step back out of sight, but then edged closer.

“Mr. Grace, I don’t believe our insurance policy covers suicide in the workplace,” he said, still looking disturbed as he eyed Percy.

“He’s quite harmless to people he likes, Mr. D,” Jason managed and Percy was impressed by how serious he looked. Then he grinned, remembering what a mess he'd been just a minute ago.

“And yet, I’d rather you get out.” 

Percy wondered how Jason would manage that and hide what was probably a very obvious erection. Jason spread his hands.

“This is the only way I’ve found to make him behave. Are the results unsatisfactory?”

Mr. D looked stumped as he looked between them.

“And what is it exactly that you do?”

“We play a lot. Chase the fish around. Chase each other. He likes it and it leaves him upbeat and social for the next day.”

Mr. D blinked and looked off across the water.

“And you do this every night?”

“Most nights.”

“What about during the day?”

“I don’t get in the water during aquarium hours. Even if I did, it would probably not work out for the viewers since we stay close to the surface. Hard to communicate otherwise.”

Mr. D looked thoughtful.

“Very well,” and then he turned, walking away. His voice called out after he disappeared from view over the edge, and Percy was tempted to peek out to watch him leave. “Keep up the good work, Grace! Don’t make me stay late again.”

“Wait, sir! Why did you come?” Jason called out, kicking up to the edge to see his boss.

“I had questions. You answered them. Good night!”

The door closed with a loud clang.

Jason looked back at him over his shoulder.

“Man, we are so fucked.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh.. I wasn't up for writing more smut today after banging out a bunch of Smutmas fics this weekend, so a brief chapter this week and then sex in the next chapter. ;)
> 
> Lmao, lots of people want to see more Nico, but I'm not sure that there will be much more of him after this. I didn't realize he'd be so popular. <3

The next two days passed by steeped in nervous energy, both Percy and Jason careful to keep their interactions pure and brief.

Percy played ball with the audience to keep his mind steady. He would swim up to the glass and read their signs and wave to children. Now and then he’d scare people, receding into the foliage and then sneaking up on someone who wasn’t paying attention from behind a rock and baring fangs. It caused a riot every time, the people in his direct path screaming, the whole audience shifting back as one. Then the nervous laughter would start, people playfully nudging each other in mutual embarrassment. Percy tried carefully not to be too scary to avoid complaints, and even the people who were the most affected by his antics seemed to cheer up eventually.

It was as good a way as any to spend the time between Jason’s chaste visits. 

When Nico showed up on the second day, Percy knew immediately that something was happening. The volume of the crowd swelled with excitement all at once even though Percy wasn’t doing anything particularly interesting at the moment. When he turned to look, people were pointing fingers, waving, taking pictures of Nico as he made his way through the parting crowd. There had been other artists passing through, but Percy hadn’t paid them as much attention. Only one had been better than Nico, and though Percy had lingered at his work longer than the rest, he decided to give preference to his old faithful and swam away without getting too close. He didn’t want to reward talent and end up with a swarm of artists competing for his attention.

Nico was blushing as he was ushered forward to the glass by enthusiastic hands. Did people know Nico’s face now? Did they recognize him in his daily life outside the aquarium? Percy wished he could ask. 

Nico waved to Percy and Percy waved back, watching Nico pull out his notepad. Percy sat patiently as Nico worked, waiting to see what the artist would show him. While he waited, he watched the people around Nico, who were trying to inconspicuously shove each other out of the way for a better look at the drawing. When he got bored, he turned his attention to the small group of fish circling near him.

There was a knock on the glass, dulled by the water. He turned back just as Nico smiled and pressed the pad of paper to the glass. Percy vaguely recognized his own face and immediately swam closer for a better look.

There were two portraits. One from when Percy had faced Nico, and a profile from when he’d turned to look to the side. They were beautifully rendered, and Percy had never seen himself in such detail before, only being familiar with his own face from the faint reflection on the tank glass and Nico’s previous sketches. He all but pressed his face to the glass, trying to commit the image to memory, face heating as he grew quickly enamored with his own peaceful features and the soft lines of Nico’s pencil strokes.

Nico pulled the pad away and Percy felt a few of his fangs slip out in irritation as he growled. He slammed a palm against the glass, and Nico briefly looked up but didn’t return the sketchpad to the glass immediately, continuing to scribble something.

Then he let Percy see.

_ “Do you want me to waterproof it and try to get it to you?” _

Percy nodded, not sure and not interested in what “waterproof” meant. Nostrils flaring in excitement, he gestured to try to get the images back. Nico smiled and flipped the page back over, showing Percy his face again. Percy relaxed a bit, and settled against the glass, letting his finger stroke over his drawn cheekbone.

He stayed like that for a long time, just looking at the picture until Nico finally moved it again.

_ “I have to go, but I’ll get it to you.” _

Percy sighed, and waving goodbye, swam away from the glass, reclining back on his favorite bed of the day.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

“I mean, he said he doesn’t want to stay late again, right?”

Percy chewed on his fish as he listened to Jason rant nervously to himself.

“So that means we’re safe so long as we do things late at night. There’s no actual cameras on the deck- I’ve looked. They’re all in the viewing area so they can’t catch anything we do near the surface.”

Percy gestured between them and then pointed at the door, jerking his head to it.

“I know, but that would be so damning even if we weren’t caught in a compromising position. I don’t know how the hell we got away with it last time, but there’s no way-”

Percy splashed him in annoyance. Jason had so little sense of adventure. Percy would happily risk it again. Worst came to worst, he’d drown anyone that caught him out of the tank. Eat them and bury the bones or something. Finally done trying to get the last of the fish meat off its bones, he let the carcass fall into the water. Frank, as he was calling his pet now after seeing a visitor with a lobster shirt and a name tag, loved polishing off any scraps.

Swimming forward to the now silent human, he rested his face between Jason’s fuzzy shins and crooned, low and soft enough to not hurt Jason’s sensitive human ears. Jason’s hand appeared in his hair, petting softly.

“You really just want to go to my room and not worry about it?”

Percy nodded and Jason heaved a sigh.

“Then… what the hell? Let’s do it.”


	13. Chapter 13

It was hotter than last time, somehow, but slower. Neither of them seemed to want to rush anymore. Percy didn't need Jason to prove his feelings, he just wanted to feel Jason against him, to explore and pleasure his lover.

_This is how it's supposed to be,_ Percy thought. Easy- both parties reverent and smiling. 

Jason kissed him deeply, arms wrapped tight around Percy’s waist, squirming and suffering Percy’s playing with his nipples. Then Percy heaved his tail and ended up on top, Jason’s knees hooking over his hips as he looked up into Percy’s eyes, the look heated and submissive. Percy trilled, low and intimidating, deep in his throat, enjoying the lowered gaze that Jason responded with. He re-initiated their kiss, licking into Jason’s pliant mouth as his hands explored between Jason’s legs, hooking under them and meeting in the middle where that sensitive hole was. Jason moaned, fingers spreading over Percy’s shoulders to dig his nails in. 

Percy played with the rim a bit, but could not find it in himself to push in, worried that he would hurt the other due to his lack of understanding and experience with the practice. Instead, he rubbed over it in endless circles, spurred on by Jason’s satisfied moans and greedy whines. 

He let go finally, to instead wrap his hand around his and Jason’s cocks, stroking leisurely until Jason started to complain and try to speed him up. Percy laughed and ignored Jason’s fist around his, forcing his rhythm to stay steady and merciless. 

Jason growled and tensed, throwing Percy off and then climbing on as he panted from the monumental effort.

He was about to lie down when Percy stopped him, thinking for a moment. 

“What is it?”

Percy hummed thoughtfully, and then started squirming, trying to roll over. After a moment of confusion, Jason helped him. 

“Are you sure? It seemed you wanted to be the one to top this time.”

Percy looked over his shoulder, surprised. Top? He supposed that that confirmed his suspicions that whatever happened last time was something Jason would not mind doing in reverse. 

He waved his hand side to side to show he had no commitment to the idea. Jason didn't seem to understand. 

“Do you ever want to top?”

Percy nodded, but gestured the question aside, again uncomfortable as he realized he'd need guidance whenever it happened and it would be difficult to ask for. 

“Alright. Let me know,” Jason said, crawling down his body, and Percy was about ready to glow. 

Jason did care. If Jason had realized how upset Percy was last time, he would have stopped. He would have done things differently. Maybe someday, Percy would be able to figure out how to tell him what had gone wrong, but today, it was enough to know that Jason cared.

He moaned as that hot tongue slipped inside him, the sensations more intense and welcome now that they weren’t scary. He wondered idly if his relatives and friends would be horrified to hear about such strange sexual practices, but he wasn’t going to let the possibility stop him. It felt good, and who were merfolk if they didn’t laugh in the face of taboos?

Jason added his fingers, spreading Percy's hole for his tongue, the pleasure peppered with slight stinging as Jason gently toyed with Percy’s limits. 

Percy tried to beg, keeping his voice as soft as he could to avoid hurting Jason’s ears. Now that they were here, in this position, he wanted nothing more than to re-experience that domination that had frightened him last time. 

He wanted to know if it would be different this time. 

When Jason continued to tease him rather than sit up to give him what he wanted, Percy reached a hand back and pulled on soft hair. 

Jason came up laughing.

“That hot for it? Yeah, relax, I've got you.”

He kissed his way up Percy’s spine, stopping now and then to bite and lick, leaving Percy squirming and needing. 

When Jason got to Percy’s neck, he lay down, burying his nose in Percy’s hair and wrapping him up in his arms. Percy moaned, his arms pulled back to run his hands up and down Jason’s smooth flank, feeling at the soft skin, toned muscle, smooth bone. 

Jason’s cock found his hole easily, slipping in with a burning stretch. Percy moaned, lifting his hips to meet the wide intrusion, shaking as it sank deeper into him. His cock between him and the sheets seemed to twitch with every inch that he allowed inside himself.

He begged again, softly, hoping it was self evident what he wanted. 

Jason moaned in reply, a soft little whimper, so undone and submissive, Percy couldn't believe that he had thought himself in the vulnerable position. 

Jason fucked slowly, rolling his hips sensually as he kissed all over Percy’s nape with open lips. He pulled Percy onto one side, freeing Percy’s tail to whip at the stimulation. 

Percy was lost in those arms, one hand reaching down to pull firmly at his leaking cock. 

He begged again, hands pulling at Jason to go faster, wanting that penetration to reach deeper, to stroke against his very soul and force his orgasm from him. 

Jason sped up, knocking his breath from him. Percy hadn't expected to feel anything but when his hand brushed against his front, the thrusts hit against his palm, so deep inside him they pushed at his abdominals. 

There was a loud knocking, landing three times. 

They froze. 

Another three knocks. 

“Mr. Grace, we know the merman is in there,” came an unfamiliar voice. “Please get dressed and open the door.”


	14. Chapter 14

Jason had pulled out too fast. Percy could still feel the stinging motion inside him as he sat pushed up to the very headboard, his tail all wrapped in on itself as tightly as possible to hide the mess at his backside. He wanted to reach back to push the puffy red tissue of his rosebud back inside, but his whole body buzzed with shame every time he imagined people seeing the motion. 

The room was full of serious looking men and women. They were all dressed in severe, dark clothing, sharp and pressed and impressive.

Jason was sat at his desk answering questions, his responses being recorded onto paper by two younger looking humans without jackets on, their shirts looking just as crisp as everyone else’s, however. The rest of the humans were arguing amongst themselves, occasionally yelling at Jason to speak up.

Percy pressed himself further into the headboard, tightening the grip he had on the pillow in his lap that hid the remnants of his erection. He could have tucked himself back in by now, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to lift the pillow for even a second with so many strangers around.

He glanced at Jason again, hoping for some sign that this was all under control, but Jason was white as seafoam and looking like he might be sick.

Mr. D approached Percy with a handsome, shrewd-looking man next to him. 

Percy expected commentary from Mr. D, but instead the other man spoke. 

“I am going to ask you some very simple, yes or no plain-English questions. All you need to do, Percy, is nod your head yes or shake your head no. Do not worry about Mr. Grace as you're answering. I need your most honest, deeply-felt answers. Can you do that for me?”

As if registering the words, the crowd around Jason closed ranks, blocking him from view.

Percy nodded. 

“Did you and Mr. Grace have sexual intercourse earlier this night?” A nod. 

“Have you and Mr. Grace ever had sexual intercourse before?” Yes. 

“Has Mr. Grace ever forced you or intimidated you into sexual contact?” No. 

“The first time you and Mr. Grace had romantic or sexual contact, was it Mr. Grace that initiated it?” No. “Was it you?” Yes. 

“Would you say that the relationship that you and Mr. Grace share is purely sexual in nature?” No. 

“Would you classify it as romantic?” Yes. 

“If you were not in captivity, would you consider continuing your relationship with Mr. Grace?” 

Percy hesitated. 

“I would remind you to answer honestly, and not worry about any retaliation.” The man’s voice was smooth and reassuring.

Percy tried to glance to Jason, but he was obscured from sight. Mr. D’s face was screwed up in deep thought, and not supplying any clues. 

Would he? Would he willingly stay by the shore, forsaking the beauty of the sea? On the other hand, could he live in the sea without any further connection to the human race? Would he stay or be fully free, without even his romance?

He nodded his head.

He'd grown out of needing that degree of freedom that he had once valued above all else. Jason meant more to him than exploring the waters alone, just as his elders had always said would inevitably happen to all merfolk. What did the vast ocean have to offer that was worthwhile if it couldn’t be shared with the person you felt closest to?

The man leaned back. 

“Last couple things- do you consider yourself fully capable of consenting to a sexual relationship with a human?” Yes. 

“Would you consider yourself an intellectual equal to the humans you have met thus far?” Yes. 

The man heaved a breath and looked to Mr. D. The two shared a heavy look.

“Sir, I believe this can be done.”

They stepped away a couple paces and started an intense discussion in hushed tones, soon joined by some other humans. They talked of time frames, allowances, tank designs, and rapid sign language immersion, but Percy felt his mind could not keep up to tie the conversation together into a solid thread. 

Jason was visible again and looking green in the face now, Percy’s stomach dropping out as he realized that the consequences for his lover were bound to be much, much worse. After all, as far as the laws of the humans were concerned, Percy was just an animal...


	15. Chapter 15

Percy looked up at the door as it swung open. He dropped his hands from what he’d been signing to Annabeth as he saw Jason come through, splashing from the rock and quickly speeding through the water to meet him.

This was a rare treat.

He hadn’t seen Jason in probably two weeks now, when Jason had been allowed a couple hours on the deck to talk. Percy may have also gotten in trouble for stealing a few kisses, but a merman’s gotta do what a merman’s gotta do. 

He was about to pull himself out of the water when Jason ran over the ledge and splashed in, still wearing clothes not meant for swimming. Percy looked between the foaming water and Annabeth, confused. He let Jason swim up and pull him under, placing an intense kiss on Percy’s lips before laughing out air bubbles and kicking up.

“-the bill get passed?” Annabeth was asking when Percy surfaced.

“Yup! Percy here is now officially a person with the full legal rights of an adult human. Minus the whole captivity part, but you know… That whole compromise wasn’t going anywhere. Mr. D has some intense connections in higher places.”

Percy signed clumsily, Jason staring at his hands intensely without comprehension.

“He’s asking what exactly this means,” Annabeth explained.

“Right, sorry. I thought it was something like that, but- It means, Percy, that I can now kiss you whenever I want, and can resume being part of your life without supervision, and that my official job title here will now be ‘Consulting Seirenologist.’  _ And- _ since I’m no longer responsible for your well-being, there’s no longer a conflict of interest.”

That was good news. While the bill was being pushed through, Jason had been on indefinite leave to help the aquarium and activist lawyers put together evidence of Percy’s intelligence and testify in front of governing humans. Having Jason back meant they could maybe pick up where they left off so many months ago.

_ What will your new job be?  _ he signed and Annabeth translated, signing along to correct Percy’s mistakes.

“Well, basically, in the language of the bill, they redefined the word seirenologist to encompass the more cultural and intellectual aspects of your species,” Jason said relaxing into the hand Percy snaked around his waist. “So I guess you could say my job will be to talk to you and learn about merfolk from you and also make sure that this tank is being run better, so as to accommodate your needs.”

Percy looked around at his tank. It had been modified quite a bit already as Mr. D, concerned about his public image and turning a profit, worked with lawyers and activists to try to comply with Percy’s criticism of his living space. The metal netting had been removed. Large rocks had been installed around the edge that he could climb onto and relax on. And most blessedly, the lights had finally been dimmed. Percy hadn’t realized quite how much he hated them until they were adjusted to no longer irritate his eyes.

And that was in addition to the staff changes. Now he had Dr. Annabeth Chase to teach him sign language. And Dr. Leo Valdez was always tinkering with trying to install new toys and ways of keeping Percy in better shape, working together with Annabeth to get Percy’s feedback.

There was even going to be a new tank constructed later this year. A larger one to give him more space to swim as well as a more integrated surface environment. The design included multiple floors for the humans outside the tank to move around on to accomodate the larger volume of visitors now that his visitation hours were shrunken.

It stung, still, to know that returning to the ocean was still something out of reach, but he hadn’t cried or felt hopeless since before he and Jason had been found out.

Percy looked between Annabeth and Jason, annoyed that he and Jason still had so much sign language to learn before they could communicate without a translator.

_ Can I see you in private? _ he asked, not making eye contact with Annabeth, wondering if she knew what he was asking.

Jason’s face reddened when he heard the translation, a smile trying to fight his straight face.

“Uh, yeah, actually,” he replied in private tones. “Annabeth will be moving out of my old room, so… You’ll be able to come over. And uh… We’re allowed to do… whatever. They removed that camera they’d installed to spy on me, so...”

Percy pointed to the water with raised eyebrows.

“Not sure if we can do anything in the tank, though. We can kiss, but…” Jason glanced briefly at Annabeth. “Even after hours, I think it’s best if we were somewhere a bit more private.”

Percy couldn’t stop smiling, thinking about how wonderful it would be to finally-  _ finally  _ be intimate with his lover again. He leaned in for a small kiss, but was unable to tear himself away once he had Jason’s wonderful lips against his. He sighed happily and let Jason drape his limbs onto him, steering them around the surface, trusting Annabeth to understand that Jason was a little more important than his lesson right now.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Nico sat on the rock next to him as he worked on making his sketch. He was trying to finish before visitation hours started but he kept making the shading on Nico’s cheek all muddy.

“Use a gentler hand,” Nico said with a smile, and Percy sighed and erased it all over again, going back in with feather light strokes.

The door opened, much more quiet than the one at his previous tank.

“Di Angelo, still here? I thought you had class.”

Nico visibly reddened, and Percy grinned, knowing the human would be here all day if he could, still not over his crush on Percy. Finally as finished with his drawing as he was going to be, Percy set the drawing pad onto his table and signed.

_ You know they won’t pay you overtime, right? _ he commented, snickering when Jason translated for Nico.

“Yeah, no. I guess if you’re done, the lesson’s over. Let me see.”

Percy flipped the notepad over to his tutor, listening carefully to the notes Nico made about it.

“If you want, though, we can start oil next week. I think you’ve gotten to that point.”

“You definitely should,” Jason chimed in, sliding onto Percy’s rock for a brief kiss. “Then you can paint me like one of your French girls, Percy.” 

Percy laughed, pulling Jason in for a tighter kiss. He pulled away when he heard Nico scrambling off his rock. He shared a sly smile with Jason before turning to look after Nico. Poor kid. He really should stop doing this to himself and that Will boy.

“I really am late to class,” Nico said when he noticed their gazes on him, setting Percy’s sketchpad into a nearby storage container. “I’ll be back on Saturday with everything we need to get started on painting.”

_ Thank you, Nico, _ Percy signed.

He turned to Jason as Nico hurried out.

_ Are you getting in the water with me today? _

Jason shook his head. “I have a couple emails I have to reply to. The really long kind. So I’ll be in, but only in maybe an hour.”

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Percy was hanging out by the glass next to the second floor visitor’s landing, signing with a small child about the ocean, when Jason jumped in. He kept talking as he waited for Jason to reach him. With the larger tank, it took a while.

_ No, sharks are very nice when they’re not hungry. _

_ But what about when they’re hungry? _

_ They don’t really like how humans taste. _

_ Why not?  _

_ I don’t know. I think humans are delicious. _

That got him a delighted giggle from the child and a scandalized look from the mother.

Jason tapped him on the shoulder, face hidden under the mask and breathing apparatus.

_ Are we playing here or on the surface? _

Percy winked at the child.

_ I’m going to go play with my boyfriend up on the surface now. _

The kid gasped, eyes wide, and ran off without another word, heading for the stairs. The mother ran off after him with a look of alarm, pushing aside people holding signs of “FREE PERCY” and “I SUPPORT INTERSPECIES MARRIAGE.”

Percy laughed and swam up, helping Jason get out of his gear once on the surface.

He paused for a moment, caught by how beautiful Jason’s big blue eyes were.

“Hi,” Jason breathed, coming to rest in Percy’s arms.

_ Hi, _ he mouthed back.

“What are we playing?”

Percy shrugged and shook his head. The visitors were just gonna have to miss out today. He’d already talked to plenty of them today.

_ Nothing, _ he mouthed, trying to make it clear enough for Jason to understand, and pushing himself onto his back, letting Jason rest on his chest and pulling him into a soft, lazy kiss.

“That’s my favorite game anyway,” Jason breathed between kisses as they floated around, uncaring of the curious people peering down at them from the top viewing floor.

This was Percy’s favorite game too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-daaa! Thank you all for reading. I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did. ❤ ❤ ❤

**Author's Note:**

> I post a lot more of my writing (and art!) on [razielim.tumblr.com](https://razielim.tumblr.com/).


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